


Something to Live For

by elensari



Series: Song of the Spheres [5]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst with a Happy Ending, Character Death, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-05
Updated: 2014-09-23
Packaged: 2018-01-22 01:39:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 45
Words: 141,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1571258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elensari/pseuds/elensari
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After running for so many years, and always finding people or causes he could die for; Rose thinks the Universe has finally given her Doctor something to live for. What she doesn't realise yet, is no matter how dark it gets or how many bumps there are in the road-with a hand to hold, there's always something worth living for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Nicest Places

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Landing in a debris strewn tunnel, the team begins exploring until things get exciting.

** The _Nicest_ Places **

 

"The TARDIS seems a bit tetchy this morning," Donna observes as she enters the Console room, somehow managing to maintain a level grip on her coffee cup despite the pitching of the floor.

 

"She's been acting a bit strange this past month, ever since I got the helmic regulator fixed," the Doctor replies, focused on making adjustments to the instruments.

 

"Landing us underwater on that ice moon, while amazing, was a bit odd.  And that spaceship falling into a sentient sun that could possess anyone who looked at it—not fun,” Rose points out with a pained expression  “Do you think we should stop by the Rift? Maybe She needs to balance some doodad, or a power boost would help align the inclusions or…something," she rattles off from where she's strapped to the jump seat, still looking slightly put out by being restrained.

 

Dougie and Jack are helping the Doctor pilot, but mostly everyone is just hanging on as traveling through the Vortex feels a bit like the pitching waves of a stormy ocean.

 

"Rose! You're brilliant! That's exactly where we'll go as soon as we do whatever it is that the TARDIS wants us to do…wherever it is…we're going to do…it…yup, doing something," the Doctor says, sounding just as unsure as everyone feels about the mystery tour.

 

"If we don't land soon, my toast might not stay where I put it," Rose gasps.

 

Glancing over his shoulder with a sympathetic look to his wife, the Doctor attempts to sooth her telepathically. He gets an annoyed flash of reddish aggravation from her instead.

 

_-I'd feel better if I was doing something and not strapped down like a delicate teacup!- she fumes._

 

_-Rooooose, it's for you and the baby's protection. It would do neither one of you any good to get tossed around and hurt.-_

 

"Wherever we're going, we'll be there soon," the Doctor tells them, looking at the monitor. He'd left the choice of destination up to the TARDIS today. It hadn't occurred to him, that She would have a hard time getting them wherever She wanted to go. The space time symbols were just almost aligned, though, so wherever "there" was about to be, they'd find out momentarily.

 

Considering how much tossing the TARDIS had done in flight, Her landing was surprisingly gentle. Rose thanked Her for that, as she finally slapped the release for her harness and shakily got to her feet.

 

"Oi, I am glad that's over," she says, straightening her dress and smoothing her hair.

 

"Right, I nearly spilt my coffee twice," Donna says as she swallows the last of it. It never stopped amazing Rose that no matter how bumpy things got, Donna was always solid, like she was born on the sea or something.

 

"How do you do that, Donna? I'd have been wearing the entire cup with the first jolt."

 

"Many years of practise moving through busy offices havin' to avoid all sorts of idiots. Bein' the best temp ever is more than just typin' a million words a minute. It's also being able to navigate any and all situations while never dropping a cup of coffee," she answers Rose's query with a self-satisfied grin.

 

"Well, you must have been a sailing ship captain in your last life with sea legs like that. I think I'm jealous," Rose teases her, grinning.

 

"Maybe. I like that—Captain Donna, scourge of the high seas!" she replies, laughing.

 

Stepping from the TARDIS they find themselves in a tunnel of some sort, littered with piles of semi-organised debris. The walls and ceiling curve away on all sides and appear to be made from some sort of brick with cabling running along the edges—definitely a higher level of technology by the looks of the stacks of materials and equipment laying around.

 

"You take us to the nicest places, Doc," Jack quips, looking around at the mess.

 

The Doctor snorts in amusement at Jack as he and Rose move hand in hand further into the area. Rose moves a little ahead of the Doctor looking at a pallet of what appears to be food replicator parts when he gets distracted by something interesting as well. All five of them are filtering in amongst the crates, pallets, and piles when they hear steps running their way.

 

"Stop! Hands up!" a young soldier shouts as he moves determinedly towards them, gun raised, followed by two of his mates. Moving quickly to Rose's side with his hands up, the Doctor steps in front of them.

 

"Look, hands up. No weapons. Never any weapons, us," he tells them earnestly. Everyone has their hands raised turning them back and forth, showing the three young men that there are definitely no weapons in them.

 

"Look at their hands," one young man says, astonishment plan on his face. "They're clean."

 

"How can they be clean? Where'd they come from then?" another asks.

 

"I don't know, and I don't care. Take them!" The first young man who must be their leader orders as he steps forward grabbing the Doctor with his gun still raised. The other two move past to round up Rose, Jack, and the others. Once they're all covered under the soldiers weapons, the one in charge drags the Doctor down the tunnel toward a large ugly device squatting on the floor. He shoves his arm in it up to the armpit, despite the Doctor's many protestations of coming in peace and meaning no harm.

 

Rose steps forward protectively as the Doctor cries out in obvious discomfort, but is tossed back toward her friends by one of the soldiers.

 

"Let him go! What are you doing to him?" she cries out, once Dougie sets her back on her feet.

 

"It just took a tissue sample. Must be some sort of extrapolator. Ow! And another one…what's it extrapolating?" the Doctor ponders aloud in the midst of the process. The machine finally belches him out, and as he stumbles back from it Rose rushes forward grabbing his injured hand. It now has two scrapes across the top of it that still ooze a bit of his blood.

 

Donna moves up to Rose's side as Dougie and Jack spread out a bit, trying to watch the soldiers and their friends all at the same time.

 

"What could be the point of the device, Doctor?" Dougie asks, glancing at the back of his hand, but the Doctor's potential answer is cut off as a nearby machine winds up and begins fuming smoke and emitting a blue light. Suddenly a pair of doors open and as the smoke clears a fit young woman steps forward. She's a little taller than Rose with blond hair and bright dark eyes. She looks around herself without a shred of awkwardness, like she owns the place. The leader of the three soldiers walks directly to her and hands her one of the giant guns telling her to familiarise herself with it.

 

"Who the hell is that? Donna asks sharply, looking at the young lady sceptically.

 

The Doctor and Rose on the other hand are staring at her. Awestruck for Rose's part, and with a healthy layer of distaste on the Doctors'.

 

"Progenation," the Doctor says quietly, in explanation. Looking back down at the wounds on his hand, he flashes back to a scene between he and Rose just that morning in the kitchen.

 

* * *

 

 

"Come on, you blasted thing," the Doctor says bitterly to the recalcitrant jam jar in his hand.

 

He'd finished the marmalade yesterday and had spent most of the night excited at the prospect of a fresh jar of razzleberry preserves they'd picked up on the recent shopping trip, but he can't get it open. Superior Time Lord strength, and the jar is mocking him.

 

"What's wrong, luv?" Rose asks as she walks in, still fluffing her freshly washed hair.

 

"The jar is mocking me, Rose," the Doctor replies petulantly.

 

"Do you want me to try?" she asks, grinning at him.

 

"No, I don't want you to try. I can get this." With another herculean effort, the Doctor lets out a satisfied HA! followed immediately by a yowl of pain as the back of his hand holding the lid slams into the cabinet edge from the force he'd been exerting. Dropping the lid to the counter indignantly, he stuffs both fingers into the jam in retaliation. As if the jar cares how he eats it.

 

"Doctor! Spoon!" Rose laughs at him, trying to recover from the hilarity of the situation. Stepping up to him, she grabs his hand as he's pulling it from the jar, two fingers laden with deep purple jam. Stilling at her touch, he watches wide-eyed as Rose slips his jam covered fingers slowly into her open mouth, watching his face the entire time.

 

"Guh" Is all the Doctor can say as she slowly removes his fingers from her mouth, making certain her quick little tongue catches all the jam, and humming her appreciation of the tastiness as she does so. With a satisfied smacking of lips, she swallows the jam, grinning at him again with her tongue caught in her teeth.

 

"You're right, jam is better that way," she teases him. She's pretty sure he's blushing from the roots of his perfectly askew hair, to the soles of his feet, which was entirely her intention. "Now let's have a look at that hand," she says turning it over, and seeing the dent the cabinet had made and a slight purpling. He'd actually hit it hard enough to get a bruise; that was impressive.

 

"Oh, I bet that hurt," she says with sincere concern. Bringing the back of his hand to her mouth she breathes over it lightly before gingerly pressing her lips to the bruise. "There, all better!" she exclaims, beaming at him and dropping his hand unceremoniously.

 

He attempts to use reestablish the connection, hoping to pull her to him, but laughingly she dances away.

 

"Oh, no! That's for the shower this morning, you frustrating git!" Shrieking in delight, she runs around the other side of the table as he lunges for her.

 

"Come 'ere; you must need a Doctor, Rose Tyler," he teases her back, trying to catch her against the table and snog her senseless. They're interrupted by Jack, Donna, and Dougie entering the galley to make breakfast before they start their day.

 

* * *

 

 

He's gazing steadily at his hand—"the hand"—when Donna swats him, asking what the hell progenation is.

 

"Reproduction from a single organism. It takes the diploids and turns them into haploids, then recombines them in a different range to grow…quite rapidly, too…a new organism," he explains, staring at the young woman. Meeting Rose's eyes, he sees her understanding of what he isn't saying.

 

"Spaceman, are you trying to tell me they made her…from you?"

 

"Yes. She's my…our daughter," he says quietly, feeling Rose stiffen beside him.

 

"Hi Dad, Mum!" she says brightly, blinking happily at them while holding a truly enormous gun.

 

Rose is just about to say something when they hear more movement. Another group of soldiers is heading their way from the direction of the TARDIS.

 

"It's the Hath," the young man yells. "Take positions." The young soldiers and the newly formed woman step up to a makeshift barricade as they begin firing toward the oncoming assailants. As the bullets begin to fly, the Doctor tells the rest of them to get down.

 

Why do they always have to shoot first? he thinks in frustration. Crouching down and attempting to hide from the ricocheting bullets, the group gets somewhat separated. Looking around for Rose and the others, he see's her behind some crates to his left, Donna and Jack under a partially fallen beam, and Dougie crouching beside him looking around for a place to run. Neither Dougie nor the Doctor notice the Hath that have come up silently behind them.

 

Being grabbed from behind by the Hath, the Doctor and Dougie are pulled toward the direction they had come from. With a shout from the Doctor, the soldiers turn and are nearly overrun by the remaining Hath, two of the young men falling to the hail of bullets.

 

Grabbing Rose and herding Donna and Jack with them, the leader of the soldiers begins dragging them further down the hallway—away from the Doctor and Dougie. Yelling at the girl to grab the detonator, he continues trying to push Rose and the others away.

 

Rose can hear the Doctor yelling to be let go and no to the detonating as he's being dragged away by the Hath. Reaching for him telepathically, she feels how worried he is for her. She tries to tell him she's alright when an explosion roars out, nearly deafening them all. When they're able to look around, Rose sees the tunnel has been sealed off, and peering through the settling dust, she notices Dougie is missing, too. So Dougie and the Doctor are on the other side of an impenetrable wall surrounded by hostile aliens. At least the cave-in buried the machine that had used the Doctor's genetic material. Hopefully that would keep them from being able to use it again. Rose can imagine that the Doctor will NOT be okay with these people making more…of whatever she is from him.

 

"What have you done?" Rose asks the soldiers dangerously, her eyes glinting gold.

 

"I'd thought you'd be happy, Mum; Cline lost both his men," the young woman says with a shrug.

 

"Come on. I'm taking you all to General Cobb. He'll know what to do, and you need to be processed. With so many of you clean, we can progenate an entire platoon from ya, come morning cycle," he says with a smile. He seriously thinks they should be happy about this.

 

"But we can't leave our friends," Jack says earnestly. "We have to rescue them from the Hath."

 

"That's impossible. Now go on, that way," Cline tells them, gesturing with his chin down the tunnel and raising his gun to remind them he still has it. "And welcome to Messaline." Following the young woman, the three unwilling prisoners head out. Cline follows behind keeping an eye out for more Hath.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Here's the first chapter in my new story, Something to Live For. Obviously, we've started right off on Messaline. We know how that one ends up, but I wanted to reinterpret it if Genny was left with Rose instead of the Doctor, and I like my ending better. -grin-
> 
> I have borrowed dialog where it was too good to not use, though of course I own nothing from Dr. Who or the BBC. I just tinker with it. :-)
> 
> I have decided to call our girl, Genny from Genetic Anomaly. I just think it looks more interesting.
> 
> Please enjoy. This will be another long fic. I'm working on double digit chapters as I write this. :-) Many thanks to the most patient and brilliant Beta, Ashlanielle.
> 
> I have a very clear vision for this overall story with lots of ups and downs, but I do have one major event of both varieties planned. I am a happy ending kind of girl, so when we get there trust me, I promise it gets better. :-)
> 
> Looking forward to hearing your thoughts. Thanks so much! Cheers!


	2. The Irony of Names

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We meet Genny properly, and gain an inkling as to what's going on.

******2 The Irony of Names**

 

 _-Rose!-_  She almost stumbles when the Doctor reaches for her. Managing to keep her feet, Rose allows a knot that was forming in her stomach to loosen a bit at his familiar mental touch.

_-I'm here. They're taking us to their leader, some General Cobb. Are you and Dougie alright?-_

_-Yeah, we're good, but one of the Hath that took us was crushed in the debris and the other may have dislocated his shoulder. Dougie is looking after him now. The Hath are very interesting, breathing and apparently speaking through some sort of filtered liquid apparatus and they have gills! Gills, Rose! They aren't telepathic at all, tried that already. I wonder…-_

_-Doctor! Do you think you can get back to us? Are they dangerous?-_

_-I don't know-_  She can see him in her mind's eye rub the back of his neck as he's thinking.

_-Dougie is about to realign the Hath's shoulder, and more are coming. They have guns!-_

_-Doctor?-_

She can feel he's still fine, but he's obviously focused on trying to diffuse the situation. Refocusing on the tunnel that her and the rest of her party are traipsing through, she sees Donna and Jack are talking to the girl…her  _daughter_?

Suddenly Rose understands why the Doctor had been so focused on his hand when he was explaining about progenation to Donna. It was the same hand he'd smacked earlier and she'd kissed. The young woman was more than just made from the Doctor; she had actually been made from  _both_  their genetics, not just the Doctor's.  _So she really is_ ** _their_** _daughter_ , Rose thinks to herself.

"So what's  _your_  name, beautiful?" Jack asks her, grinning. Donna swats him for flirting, but still looks at the young woman, curious for the answer.

"I haven't been assigned one yet," she says, happily marching along.

"What? They teach you about guns and fighting, but they don't give you a name?" Donna asks, taken aback.

"All necessary information was probably downloaded into her brain when she was made, but that didn't include a name, I guess," Rose says, trying to work out the reasoning.

"But that box back there made you from them, so you're like a…a… What do you call a female Time Lord…a Time Lady?" Donna asks.

"What's a Time Lord?" the young woman asks.

"The Doctor and I are Time Lords….er… your Dad, that is. We aren't human. It was his hand that they put into that machine, that made you. He thinks part of me was there, too. Some of my DNA was probably…on that hand...you see." Rose blushes pink as she's explaining, much to Jack's amusement. She can tell he's about to say something rude, so she beats him to it.

"I'd kissed it earlier when he smacked it on a cupboard. You know, to make it feel better," Rose says, rolling her eyes in frustration.

"I'm sure it made him feel better, Rosie. No wonder you two looked all flustered when we came in," Jack says with his wide knowing grin. Rose sort of wants to smack it off his face at the moment though, feeling out of sorts with all the challenges tossed their way in such a short time.

"What does that make her, then?" Donna asks, ignoring her man's incorrigible behaviour and nodding toward the young lady.

"I don't know. I don't know as much as the Doctor would about how that machine might work. I have no idea how it would replicate our genetic structure, it isn't human—too many strands. She may be some sort of genetic anomaly or a unique amalgamation of human and Time Lord. I just don't know, Donna."

"Well, genetic anomaly is about as personal as a number. Genetic…hmmm, how about Genny, then? Do you like that?" Donna asks, turning to the woman beside her with a smile.

"I do. I like it very much. Thank you. I'm Genny!" she says enthusiastically to the group. Her charm is infectious and they all return her grin, even Cline who's leading up the rear.

"I'm Donna. This plum is Jack, and your mum's name is Rose," Donna tells her, pointing each person out. "Obviously they downloaded Cline's name into your head, and back at the tunnel, the Doctor, your Dad, and Dougie were taken by the Hath. We'll get them back, don't…" Donna trails off as they enter a large open space that looks like a theatre, but is being used by the inhabitants as a military staging area instead of the lighthearted one it was obviously intended for.

The theatre is a warren of paths and orderly stacks of materials and supplies. It's a beehive of furious activity. Everywhere they look young men and women are preparing for a war. Looking around at all the bustling action, Rose knows this would bother the Doctor to no end. Purposeful destruction is the quickest way to get on his bad side. About to make a comment, she sees the only older person she's noticed all day headed their way. He appears to be about 60, and with his cold eyes and tight cruel mouth, Rose knows he's the one responsible for the current level of preparedness.

He's also eyeing them up as he approaches. "There was a pacifist group lost to the east sector a few generations back. Are you part of that then?" Cobb asks brusquely, without preamble or introductions.

"Umm, sure the eastern sector, that's us," Jack states with a friendly smile. He moves to the front of the group hoping his more military look will get them farther with these people. Although, already being thought of as pacifists will probably not help. "We…uhh, decided to go exploring. Got bored with their propaganda." Donna kicks his heel in annoyance, but he's still putting on his best 'win over the brass' grin.

"Right, so two of your friends were captured by the Hath. I'm sorry for your loss. With your help will can avenge them when we win this war," Cobb states matter-of-factly.

"But why are you even fighting this war?" Rose asks. There's something just not right, and she's determined to figure it out. Understanding what's happening could be her only way of rescuing the Doctor and Dougie.

"It's either the Hath or us. They want to win as badly as we do. We are committed to fighting and committed to winning this war. When we find the Source, there will be Peace," Cobb says reverently.

"The Source?" Rose ask, confused.

"Yes, it's said that the Source will bring the Breath of Life to the planet, and She will bring Peace and Light to all who follow. But we were attacked by the Hath, and we lost the Temple when the War started," Cobb finishes, bringing them to a map projected onto a screen.

"Riiight, well I like the part about it being a woman, but it sounds like another creation myth to me," Donna says with a knowing nod as she crosses her arms.

"You mean that's not real?" Genny asks her quietly as Rose and Jack focus on the map with the General.

"Well, as real as anything else here is, I guess," Donna replies as she begins heading out into the room a bit more.

"So these are the tunnels? Does it show the Hath tunnels as well?" Rose asks, gesturing at the grid.

"Yes."

"Great! Then we'll know where to start looking for the Doctor. Oi! Jack, did you see that?" Rose exclaims when the screen glitches for a moment.

"The glitch in the screen?" he asks her, already looking around the console.

"Yeah, I think there's another layer to the map, can you get it?"

"I'll try, Rosie," Jack answers as he starts typing furiously into the keyboard. That isn't having an effect and soon he's under the console digging in the wiring.

"Why are we underground?" Donna asks, continuing to move a little away from the group by the map. Cobb gives her the creeps. Cline stays nearby though, with Genny.

"The surface is uninhabitable," Cline answers, but it sounds like the pat answer he's supposed to repeat, not like he's actually been outside.

"Really, is that right?" Donna says sarcastically. "Well, then why are there windows? You don't exactly need windows if you're only ever staying underground. And look, there's another one of these numbers. This one ends in 18, the one back by the progenitor ended in 17," Donna muses. Her thoughts are broken off by Jack's successful exclamation. She turns to see a much more expanded map now displayed on the screen.

"I don't know what I did, but it started working!" Jack says happily as he gets back to his feet, brushing off his knees.

"The Temple. You found it for us. And look, we're much closer than the Hath. We can get there first!" The sick glee in Cobb's voice unnerves Rose, but not as much as his next statement. "As soon as the morning cycle begins, we'll use you three to begin making new soldiers," Cobb states with grim satisfaction and a wave of anger builds inside Rose.

"You will  **not**  be using us to make more soldiers, Cobb. We are uninterested in your little war, but I am very interested in getting my husband and friend back. I  _will_  find a way to them, believe me," Rose says, getting right into Cobb's face with determination. The action pulls a flicker of amusement in his eyes, and Rose tries another angle. "You don't want to keep doing this. This war is wrong. You spoke of peace earlier. Why don't you make peace with the Hath?" Rose asks Cobb, pleading with him now to see reason. Instead, she watches his face freeze into a mask of cold unresponsiveness.

"Peace with the Hath? Little girl, there will be peace when there are no more stinking Hath," Cobb states plainly, his tone brittle and his eyes hard.

"But that's  _genocide_. I will  **NOT**  allow you to commit genocide, Cobb, and neither will my husband when he finds out what you're doing. We will stop you. You need to know that!"

"Your  _husband_  is probably dead," Cobb spits at her, furious. "The Hath would have killed him by now. How do you feel towards them knowing that?" he asks her without a shred of sympathy before ordering brusquely, "Take them to a holding cell. I'm tired of bantering words with this pacifist and her friends."

"What about the new soldier?" Cline asks.

Looking her over closely, but with a scowl, he finally says, "Put her in with them. She's from pacifist stock. We can't trust her. Stay and guard them." Turning sharply, Cobb moves back into the main room barking orders and readying his troops for the upcoming fight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the kudos and bookmarks so far! I am pretty excited about this story, so I can't wait to see what you all think. -grin- Monday's chapter...The Discovery of Species.
> 
> Many thanks to the ever supportive Ashlanielle for being such a great beta, and to Layla Crimson for being so enthusiastic. You ladies rock!
> 
> Added later...If you don't mind taking a moment, please review. Even if it's just to say thanks, it means a lot. The stats say people showed up, but with a silent audience it's hard to know if the story's working for you. So, please share the love. Thanks! :-)


	3. The Discovery of Species

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose and Genny get to spend a little quality time together while stuck in a holding cell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Mother's Day! Have a chapter early. :-) Molto bene!

**3 The Discovery of Species**

 

The Hath that Dougie had administered to, kept the other Hath from attacking, but as the Doctor and Dougie follow him and the others back to their base, the Doctor doesn't think they're out of the woods yet.

"They are creating their own soldiers in the progenitor machines, Doctor," Dougie says quietly as they move through the corridors.

"I know. That's the fourth one we've passed, spitting out new Hath as fast as they can," the Doctor replies. "I'm worried for Rose and the others, Dougie. How do we communicate our intentions? We must stop this war."

The Doctor's musings come to an end as they are led to a map projected within a gridded screen.

"Oh, this must be the tunnel system. Look Dougie, these must connect to the human tunnels. Is that correct?" he asks their Hath escort, who nods. "Good, you can understand us. Right, so if we're here...," he muses as the screen glitches showing more for an instant. "Oh! I saw that. Did you see that?" Dougie nods and the Hath watch them intently.

The Doctor fiddles with his sonic trying it out on the screen a couple of times with no success. Growling at the tool and giving it a good shake he tries again to greater success. Instantly a more thorough image of the entire complex is available. "Ha! I knew it, but this is much more extensive…" His remaining words are lost as the host of Hath around them begin cheering as best they can through the bubbling breathers.

Dougie and the Doctor look around themselves in confusion as the Hath funnel past them, all taking a moment to touch either the Doctor or Dougie as they head out.

Whipping back to the map, the Doctor realises what he's done. "Oh no, I think I just started the war. Rose!"

* * *

"He's going to kill all the Hath and probably the Doctor and Dougie in the process. We have to stop him. There must be a way out of here." Rose shakes the bars a few times in frustration, staring daggers into Cline's back, which he keeps resolutely turned in their direction. Pacing away from the door, she leans back against the wall, sliding down it until she's sitting next to Jack, resting her head on his shoulder.

"You aren't giving up, are you?" Genny asks her.

"No, Genny, I'm just… I'm just worried for the Doctor and Dougie, and I'm worried for all these people both Human and Hath. They don't need to die so senselessly. And we just gave Cobb exactly what he needs. The irony isn't lost on me, by the way," Rose replies miserably.

"We had no idea that Captain Nut-Job out there would prove to be so zealous. It's not your fault, Rose," Donna tells her, laying a soothing hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah, Rosie, the Doctor will find a way. He always does. And, if we're being honest, I'm the one that gave Nut-Job what he needed. If the Doctor's going to be mad, he can be mad at me…again," Jack says with bravado, but Rose can see he's hurting, too.

"I know there's a larger picture here, and we have to fix all of it…" Rose stops when she realises that Genny is staring at her intently. "What? What is it, Genny?"

"Well, you. You talk about not wanting to kill anyone or let anyone die, but that's what we do. We're soldiers. All we know how to do is live and how to die."

"But Genny, we aren't soldiers. We travel places. We help. That's what we do."

"Do people always live? Are you able to save everyone, wherever you go?"

"Well, no, but that's not…"

"And tell me about Time Lords. What are they?"

"Genny, I don't know if you are one…exactly, and that's the Doctor's story," Rose begins, but then suddenly feels overwhelmed emotionally. "Oh, Genny. They're gone. All the Time Lords are gone, and I'm not even a real Time Lord. You're probably just like me—an impossible thing." Bursting into to tears, Rose turns into Jack's shoulder sobbing. Wrapping an arm around her, he nods that he's good to Donna, who gets up and moves to Genny.

"Well, I can answer part of your question," she says to Genny seriously.

"How?"

"Time Lords have two hearts. May I?" Donna asks reaching out toward Genny's chest.

With a nod, Genny watches as Donna gently rests one hand on the left side of her chest, just above her breast. Feeling the steady beat, Donna smiles and then lays her other hand in same spot on the right side of her chest. Genny hadn't had time to notice it before, but now that Donna has pointed it out, her eyes get wide at the difference between her and her fellow soldiers. Suddenly, they feel a little less like the family her programming has tried to tell her they are. Rose's remark about her not being human finally comes home.

Turning back to Rose and Jack, Donna has a smug grin on her face.

"Two hearts, Sunshine. She's yours alright!" Donna tells Rose with glee.

"Really?" Rose asks through the end of her sobs, scrubbing at her face.

- _Can you hear me, Genny? Are you telepathic, too?-_ Rose sends to her.

There are two gasps in the room, one from Rose and one from Genny, but not for the expected reasons. When reaching for Genny, Rose startled the baby, who immediately reached for reassurance. Genny heard his need, and gasped in response to the new awareness that abruptly blossomed in her mind, followed rapidly by the baby boy's joyful reply.

Dropping to her knees at Rose's feet, Genny reaches out instinctively, but stops herself, looking up at Rose apprehensively for permission. Rose takes her hovering hand and places it upon the swell of her belly, having felt both Genny's opening and her son's acknowledgement. Smiling at her, Rose squeezes Genny's hand, and when she looks up, tells her, "That's your baby brother."

Mentally reaching out to both of them again, Rose gently caresses their minds, even if Genny can't feel her, and reassures her son that everything's fine, and he should go back to sleep. With a small smile, Rose relaxes and looks back up at Genny, releasing her hand. Doing so, she notices that Genny is still staring at her strangely.

"What is it now?" she jokes, wiping her face again.

"I felt that. You hugged him…and me…well, sort of. And now I can feel you…here," she says, tapping her temple. "Like a warm hum that I can barely hear. That's you, right…Mum?"

"Yes, Genny. That's me, and you can call me mum," Rose replies, pulling the young woman into a tight hug. They cling to each other in the abrupt oddness of the moment that still manages to feel perfect.

"Genny?" Rose asks hesitantly as they sit back from each other.

"Yeah, mum?" she replies, grinning in delight at the prospect of having a mother.

"Would you like to come with us when all this is finished? It's okay if you want to stay, but..."

"You'd let me come...along?" Genny asks, eyes wide.

"It's a big universe out there, Genny, and we'd love for you to come with us." Not realising it when she'd originally asked, Rose is now desperate for her to agree. She doesn't want to leave her daughter behind.

"Yes, Mum! Yes, I want to go! Oh, thank you!" she exclaims, looking for all the world like she'd just received all twenty years worth of Birthday presents at once. Falling into a laughing, hugging heap that Jack and Donna join, they all enjoy the moment filled with so much joyous possibility.

"Right, we still need to get out of here," Rose states, wiping the now happy tears from her face and getting to her feet, brushing herself off brusquely.

 _-Rose!-_ Someone steadies her from behind, when she sways a little at the Doctor's sudden appearance in her mind.

_-Doctor! Cobb and his cronies have us locked up with Genny. They're marching on the Hath. Some map thing showed them the way!-_

_-Ohhhh…that was me. It glitched, I fixed it…well, you know how that goes. Genny? Who's Genny? You have to get out of there. All the Hath are headed your direction, too.-_

_-I'll tell Jack it was you. He was afraid it was his fault and you'd be mad at him, again. Donna named our daughter, Genny…short for genetic anomaly. That's my fault, I was trying to figure out how she could be our daughter.-_

_-Rose she isn't…not really…-_

_-Doctor-_

_-She's more of a…-_

_-DOCTOR!_ **_Stop it!_ ** _-_

_-Blimey, Rose. No need to shout.-_  Rubbing his temples, he looks over to see if Dougie heard her. To his relief, Dougie appears to still be trying to communicate with their Hath. They had looked for surface thoughts earlier, but couldn't make sense of anything they picked up. Dougie's much more skilled though at communicating with varying telepaths, and is continuing to try.

_-She has two hearts, Doctor. And…she can hear the baby-_

_- **What**!?-_

_-I know…she has your eyes, too-_  He can almost hear Rose's sob through their link and all he wants to do in that moment is hold her. Screw the Hath…screw the Humans, and screw this damn planet.

_-Rose, it's okay. It's all going to work out. She can come with us! We'll travel together. We will figure everything out as soon as we're safe. As soon as we're_ **_all_ ** _safe. Got that? I'm coming for you, Rose Tyler.-_

_-Not if I see you first, my Doctor-_


	4. The Soldiering Choice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor and Dougie find a new path and Genny learns about choices.

**4 The Soldiering Choice**

"Right! So let's take a closer look at this map. Maybe it can show us even more," the Doctor says, pulling out his glasses and peering at the new details. The Hath moves forward though and manipulates the map's projector so that it's now in 3D, spinning and showing the full depth of the tunnels.

"Impressive! Look at you, clever Hath," he enthuses. "Look here, Dougie," he points out. "These tunnels dogleg back on themselves several times; that will slow everyone down. If we go up and over the surface, we could get there first!" he says with a gleeful clap of his hands.

With a head shake and a mournful sputtering, the Hath disagrees. Pulling up another chart, he shows them the atmosphere outside.

"Oh, look, atmospheric readings. Okay…oxygen and nitrogen are more or less fine, even for the humans. Ozone is a bit on the uptick, but nothing we can't handle. Luckily,  _we_  aren't human, Dougie, or these radiation spikes could cook our insides; but I don't think we'll be out there all that long," he finishes, turning to look at Dougie and the Hath, whose expressions are a bit blank. How is any of that good?

"Brilliant! Well, let's go rescue everyone before this war gets any uglier," he tells them and heads in the same direction the other Hath had earlier, looking for a way to the surface. They've gone a couple of meters when Dougie realises their Hath isn't with them. Turning back, he holds out a hand and beckons.

"Come, my friend. We could still use your assistance," he tells him and finally picks up a surface thought that makes sense—intense happiness. Smiling back at the Hath, they hurry to catch up to the Doctor.

* * *

"Genny, that was brilliant!" Donna exclaims, as they rapidly tie Cline up on the floor of the cell. "I can't imagine the Doctor getting us out using that technique." Giggling at the thought, Donna shakes her head at the images that pop into her mind. She'll have to share them with Jack tonight, he'll be just as amused.

"Well, it was Mum's idea," Genny replies, grinning at Rose.

"The  _point_  is to use the least amount of violence possible, and trust me, that threshold is even lower for your father. Don't let him see you with that gun, or I'll never hear the end of it," Rose tells her with her own matching grin.

"Come on, girls. We should go save these people from themselves," Jack says from the door. "It's clear to the stairwell."

Taking the stairs as silently as possible, Jack leans around the corner and spots another guard at the base of the next landing.

"We have company," he tells them quietly.

"Oh, let me distract this one. I've been practising my  _womanly wiles_  recently," Donna says cheekily to Jack, as Rose attempts to stifle her snort in her fist.

"Donna, while I adore your wiles, why don't we save them up for a real emergency," Jack whispers to her. Donna isn't sure if she should be insulted or not, so opts to just smirk at him.

Laying a hand on Genny's shoulder as he moves to step forward, Jack says, "I've got this one, ladies. Watch and learn."

Squaring his shoulders, Jack throws himself dramatically to the floor, and begins snaking his pseudo-injured way out into the sightline of the next guard, groaning loud enough to wake the dead.

"Oh, I've been shot. Help."

"Oi! What happened, mate?" are the only words the helpful young man gets out before Genny moves up behind him and lays him low with a chop to his spine.

"Nicely done, Genny. I'm impressed!" Jack tells her as they tie him up and stash him in a dark corner.

"Thanks!" she replies happily. Genny is really pleased that she has hand to hand combat training to fall back on. It's still so ingrained to want to go for the gun, but she's learning, and she appreciates her mum and dad's ideals. She just hopes those same ideals don't prove lacking in their current situation. Stashing Cline's pistol in her waistband, she picks up the battle-rifle Jack's rescuer set aside before loping off after her mum and the others.

"So, how are we going to find our way then? This place is a warren," Donna asks as they are making their way along the corridors.

"With this," Jack says, holding up a cellophane printout of the updated map with a pleased smirk. "I swiped it from the pile Nut-Job made while he was having a go at Rose."

"I could kiss you," Donna says admiringly.

"Of course you can," Jack says, and busses her loudly on the lips before turning and leading the way more confidently. Rose and Genny grin at their antics.

As they move through the corridors, Donna continues to notice the numbers on the beams. She knows she's missing something and it's really starting to bug her. Turning a corner, she sees another one as Jack stops them to begin examining a wall.

"This should be the place. I just need to find a way through."

"Jack, do you have any paper on you?" Donna calls out.

"What...paper? Uh…no…"

"I do," Rose says, reaching into one of her bigger-than-they-ought-to-be pockets, she pulls out a scap of paper and a stub of pencil left over from a bit of bowling that had happened on the TARDIS a few days earlier.

"Thanks," Donna replies absently. "These numbers, they keep counting down. This one ends in 14 and the one at the cell was 16."

"You lot think about things a bit much. What is it you said you do?" Genny asks them.

"How do you mean?" Rose questions in return as Jack begins fiddling with the wall and Donna is lost in thought.

"I mean, what is it that you  _do_  when you aren't…here?"

"Well, the Doctor and I travel through time and space; and Donna, Jack, and Dougie are our friends and travel with us."

"But they aren't Time Lords. What were they for then, the Time Lords, since they're apparently gone?"

"Uhh, they weren't  _for_  anything. Right pretentious lot, very self-involved, but dead smart and invented loads of things, like…"

"Rose and the Doctor save planets, rescue civilisations, defeat terrible monsters, and do a lot of running." Donna interrupts Rose, answering the questions that the girl was actually asking. Seeing Genny's expression, Donna adds with a snort, "No really, it's an outrageous amount of running." Genny's answering grin tells Donna she's just as daft about the running as her parents. They should get on famously.

At the sound of squeaking metal, they all turn back to Jack and see a door sliding open where once there was a wall.

"Got it! Ha, I am  _so good!_ " he says, getting to his feet. In the distance they can hear Cobb's voice and more gunfire. "What was it you were just saying about running, Donna? Careful what you wish for," Jack laughs, helping Rose over the threshold after Genny and taking off down the passage with Donna in tow.

Rounding the next corner at a full run, Genny spreads her arms to stop anyone from moving past her. In front of them is a wall of laser lights bisecting the corridor in some form of extra security.

"Right, they couldn't just use some mood lighting. Have to get all dangerous," Donna sasses to no one.

"Jack, over here," Rose calls. "This must be the switching system. Help me. Let's see if we can get it turned off."

As they move to the switches, Donna looks over and sees another of the numbered plaques. "Here's another of those plates—always 8 numbers and always counting down the further in we go."

All four heads rise as they hear the grating sound of the General's voice in the distance. Slinging the large gun around that she'd taken off the last guard, Genny moves back to the head of the passageway they'd just left.

"Genny!" Rose calls. "Where are you going?" she asks worriedly.

"I can protect you, hold them off. It's what I need to do, and it's them or us," she says urgently to Rose.

"But you might not have to kill them, Genny. Remember you always have a choice."

"Not this time, Mum. There is no other choice." And with a quick smile that doesn't reach her eyes, Genny is around the corner.

Taking up a position, Genny begins firing at her previous comrades, much to their surprise. The General manages to duck out of the way as she sends a spray of bullets at them, and thenmoves to a new position. Pulling off a few more shots, she crouches back down and glares at her gun. She never would have hated it, if it wasn't for Rose and Donna's words. Now, she feels like she's letting them down just by holding it.

"Genny, come on!" Jack calls back for her.

"I'm coming," she calls back, hoping that she'll live through the next few seconds and prove the statement true.

Sneaking a look back at their pursuit, she sees a potential non-lethal solution and readies herself, now grinning for real.

Telling his soldiers to cease fire, the General steps forward to see if he can reason with the girl. "You're a child of the machine. You're on my side. Join us. Join with us in the war against the Hath. It's in your blood, girl; don't deny it," he says in his thick brogue.

 _It might be in your blood, but that's not my blood,_  she thinks, laying a quick hand between her beating hearts. Leaping to her feet again, Genny aims her gun toward the General, tired of his preaching, but then aims at a pressure valve above the General's head. Firing off a shot, she sees that it does exactly as she hoped and starts pouring superheated gases out of the wound in the metal. Hoping that buys them a little time, Genny gleefully slips back around the corner.

With a grin, she sees her mum and Donna at the far end of the corridor. It had worked! Just as she's about to follow, the lasers burst back into light between them.

"No! The circuit must have reset!" Rose shouts.

"Well, can't you do something? Zap it again," Donna yells unhelpfully.

"I can't, the controls are back there."

Rose looks to Genny, her anger and fear plain on her face.

Throwing the large gun aside, Genny says, "Don't worry, Mum. I can manage on my own."

Taking a moment to prepare herself, Genny sees Jack come around the far corner and stop dead, taking the entire situation in in a moment. With a small smile, Genny begins. It's her turn to be impressive.

Taking a couple of quick steps back and raising her arms, Genny leaps, vaults, and handsprings her way faultlessly through the laser beams. Jack, Donna, and Rose watch in open mouthed astonishment at her advancement through the deadly barrier.

"That's impossible," Donna says softly, watching the progression.

"Not impossible, Donna Noble, she gets that from me! Bronze, Under Sevens Gymnastics Team," Rose tells her excitedly. As soon as Genny lands on their side, she's swept into a heartfelt four-way hug.

"That was brilliant! Completely brilliant," Rose gushes at her.

"You were right, Mum. I had a choice. I could have killed General Cobb and I didn't."

"Oh Genny, I'm so proud of you and your dad would be, too," Rose tells her, pulling her into another hug.

"Ladies, we have company again," Jack says quickly as Cobb and his soldiers rush into the passage on the other side of the lasers. "Let's get out of here, and find whatever it is they're all looking for."

Rose, Donna, and Jack take off at a run down the hallway. Genny stands her ground one last time, staring General Cobb in the eye before she deliberately walks away as he raises his gun and begins shooting at her. Once past the edge of the wall, she races to catch up with the others. Rose was waiting for her. Seeing the determined and somewhat triumphant look in her daughter's eye, Rose squeezes her arm in understanding. Turning, they head up the stairs after Jack and Donna.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading. I think I am far enough ahead to update three times a week now. Always beta'd by the ever patient Ashlanielle and previewed by Layla Crimson. I would love to know your thoughts so far. So, please take the time to review; it only makes the story better. Thanks again!


	5. The Candle of Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Together again! Everyone learns something about someone else.

**5 The Candle of Life**

Sonicing the hatch open, the Doctor is finally able to reach the open air. Other than being a bit brisk, it isn't too bad. Climbing the rest of the way out, he moves to the side as Dougie and the Hath join him in gazing about themselves.

"As Jack said earlier, Doctor, you do take us to the  _nicest_  places." The Doctor can hear Dougie's teasing grin in his voice.

"How many planets have we been on recently with three moons in the sky at once, eh Dougie?"

"Three suns, but you're right, not three moons, yet," Dougie replies, still smiling. Turning to the Hath, Dougie can pick up the edges of wonder from their new friend.

"Are you not glad you came? You are the first Hath to see this in how long?"

His reply is a burble through the breather, but the happy edge of wonder remains, and Dougie is pleased to feel the communication, slight though it is. Clapping him on the shoulder, they follow after the Doctor, who is bounding along the uneven terrain like a loose puppy.

They make their way along the ridges and rills of the volcanic landscape in the general direction of the main hub on the map. It should soon be visible through the night as it extends from the ground by many meters, but the rough terrain hinders their attempts at speed. Both Dougie and the Hath have had to help each other over particularly difficult areas. The Doctor seems to have some sort of knack for avoiding the most dangerous zones just before they collapse.

The Doctor's luck runs out at one point, though. As he's extolling them with a story about some adventure on a place called Metebelis III, his miraculous footing fails him. The edge of the crater they are skirting suddenly gives way, and with a shout, the Doctor is tumbling headlong towards its bottom. The walls are made of broken scree so he doesn't appear to injure himself on the way down, but they are all surprised by the wet splash heard at the bottom. What had appeared solid is in fact a lake of slurry, and as the Doctor struggles, it begins to pull him deeper.

"Doctor! Hold still, we're coming. We'll pull you out," Dougie tells him frantically as he slides down the scree after him.

"Holding still isn't really my best skill, Dougie. There isn't anything to hold on to!" the Doctor tells him, trying to maintain a grip on the banks as the sludge tries to pulls him further out.

Dougie and the Hath make it safely to the bank's edge and try to reach him, hoping to pull him out of the thick clinging muck, but there's very little purchase at the rim.

Pausing a moment, the Hath throws himself into the lake, getting behind the Doctor and pushing him toward Dougie, despite the Doctor's struggles and protestations.

"Hath! What are you doing? No, no, no…we can all get out of this. Come on, we'll get a grip on that larger rock over there."

There isn't a larger rock over there, and with a mighty effort, the Hath heaves the Doctor up from the muck and into Dougie's arms. The Doctor and Dougie can do nothing while they gasp and tremble at the shore's brink, watching as the brave Hath is pulled under the slurry. Dougie picks up a feeling of intense gratitude quite clearly from the Hath before the sensation of his presence disappears.

"He has gone into the Universe, Doctor. But I picked up his last thought clearly, and he was grateful. He was pleased to have met us, Doctor. We showed him how things should be when we work together. He was thanking us," Dougie shares quietly between pants, moved by the Hath's sacrifice.

"Thank you, Dougie," the Doctor replies when he has his own breath back, still staring at the hidden danger of the lake. "Let's get going. Messaline doesn't need any more senseless death."

Getting to their feet, they help each other up and over the rough edge of the embankment. Cresting the ridge, they've moved around the curve enough to finally see the cap of the hub above the surrounding landscape. Making a run for it, they hope they aren't too late as they find the hatch and enter a mostly red, highly technical area filled with gangways, pipes, and wires of all kinds. Steam is issuing from some of the junctures, and everything feels primed and ready, like it's waiting for something to happen. But no one is around attending to any of the many gauges, switches, and adjustments necessary for machinery this large to be running this smoothly.

The Doctor moves down the corridor a bit in one direction comes back and moves down the other side, touching, prodding and tapping at things before he returns to Dougie's side, fairly vibrating with excited tension.

"What is this place, Doctor?" Dougie asks, looking around.

"Fusion drive transport system…It's a spaceship, Dougie!" the Doctor answers in delight.

"The original one that brought the colonists?"

"Hmmm, good question," he replies, doing a circle and looking confused. "It could be, but the power cells would have run down in all that ti…"

The Doctor is about to continue explaining, when both he and Dougie feel a new presence brush their minds and it's close.

"Doctor, I believe we are very near Rose and your daughter," he says with a light of happiness in his eyes.

"Indeed, that appears to be the case. Well, let's go catch up to them. Maybe they know something new," he replies a little dubiously. He isn't so sure how he feels about this whole instant daughter business, but he has picked up loud and clear that Rose feels this is their daughter, and he would have hell to pay if he tries to discount her without giving her a chance. Steeling himself for the upcoming reunion, they head off.

* * *

"So, Donna–you and Jack?" Genny asks her quietly as they trail behind Rose and Jack, who are closely following the map. This is the most challenging area, with its overlapping passageways, and they are moving more slowly, trying to not backtrack.

"Yeah, me and Jack. It was sort of immediate and accidental all at the same time, but we're both traveling with them, and we love it," Donna replies with an honest grin.

"Which part was immediate and accidental? The traveling or the relationship?" Genny asks with a cheeky smirk.

"Ha! Think you're clever, don't ya, Spacegirl?" Donna teases her. "Mostly the relationship. The prawn kissed me on like the third day after we met; it was fantastic. See, traveling with the Doctor and Rose sort of skews your perception of time. An awful lot can happen in a very short space of it."

"Tell me about the travelling. What's that like?" Genny asks. She'd been surprised and gratified when her mum said she could come, but she was curious about what it would actually be like.

"Well, to start with, there's never a dull moment. It can be brilliant, terrifying, and hilarious; sometimes all at once. I've seen some amazing things, Genny. Whole new worlds."

"I'd like to see new worlds someday," Genny replies dreamily.

"Oh, you will. Your mum meant it when she invited you along; the more the merrier. Just wait till you meet the TARDIS!" Donna tells her with a giggle. She can't wait to be a part of showing this young woman the Universe. She already feels like Aunt Donna. She'd always wanted to be an aunt.

One thought sobers her a moment, and while it isn't entirely her place to tell it, Donna feels that Genny should have an idea of what she's getting into. Slowing the pace a little more, she reaches out and touches Genny's shoulder lightly to get her attention. The girl's pleased grin fades seeing the serious light in Donna's eyes.

"Genny, your dad, the Doctor…he fought in a very great war much, much larger than this one, for the fate of the entire Universe." Genny's excited eyes get wide and she's about to interrupt with a question, but Donna stops her with a raised hand.

"No, it was more horrible than anything you or I can possible imagine. He  _hated_  it, but what he really hated more was himself, because he was the one who ended it, the War. But to do that he had to end his own people as well as his enemies–all of them." Nodding at Genny's aghast expression Donna continues, "He was the only Time Lord anywhere for a very long time, because when he stopped the war he lost his family, too. He's come a long way, especially since Rose, I think; but he still struggles. You're part of his new family and he'll love you, I promise, but remember, he's still haunted by what he lost, and he'll see echoes of them in you and Rose."

Genny's slightly shell-shocked expression wasn't Donna's intention, and she gives the young woman a sideways hug in reassurance. Leaning her head on Donna's shoulder, Genny thinks about what she's just learned. Her mum's protestations of her and the Doctor loathing the possibility of genocide make more sense now, as well as her mum's need to protect her family. This is a lot for a girl to process in her first 24 hours of life, but like Donna said…never a dull moment.

They are still following Jack and Rose, when Genny suddenly notices a new presence in her mind. Looking up startled from Donna's shoulder, she calls out to Rose.

"Mum! I think I feel Dad in my head, well a new hum anyway, and a different bit that's sort of the same but not," she says with her forehead wrinkled in confusion.

"That will be Dougie, the really tall one with the pale hair, do you remember?" Rose replies.

"Oh, yes! He has really pretty eyes," Genny says, smiling brightly.

They all look up and back the way they came at the sound of more gunshots and the lasers overloading.

"They've gotten past the laser barrier!" Jack exclaims.

"Is it time for more running? I love the running," Genny says excitedly, and they can all see echoes of her father in her as she bounces on the soles of her feet in anticipation.

"We love the running, too," Rose beams in reply as they take off hand in hand.

"Some of us do  _not_  love the running," Donna grumbles. Jack snorts laughter at her as he grabs her hand. They grin at each other and take off after the retreating backs of mother and daughter.

Rounding another corridor, they sprint to its end, herded by the sounds of gunfire, but they find their way is blocked.

"We're trapped," Donna points out.

"This must be the Temple," Rose says, looking closely at the map.

"Well, then, this must be the door. Help me find the panel, Rosie," Jack says, feeling around for the frame and maybe a panel. "You know, this would be a lot easier if you had a sonic," he points out as he starts shoving wiring and bits of covering out of the way.

"Tell me about it. I keep trying to get him to make me one, but I haven't succeeded yet. Maybe I'll work on it with the TARDIS. See what She and I can come up with…got it! Here Jack."

Donna watches them switch wires and poke and prod things within the little opening Rose had found, getting more and more worried about their timing. Then, she looks up and notices another number. Pulling out her piece of paper, she adds it to the list. This one ends in 12.  _These are too similar, too familiar,_  she thinks to herself. In a sudden burst of insight, she feels her stomach drop in realisation. She wants one more of these plates to make sure, but Donna's positive she has it worked out.

Genny is bouncing from foot to foot glancing back and forth between them and the running steps that are getting closer and closer. Pulling the pistol out of her belt, she holds it ready–just in case.

Just as the shadows of the running soldiers become visible, Rose and Jack get the door open with a surprised and jubilant shout. They all move as quickly as possible into the new room and push the door shut just as the bullets start flying in their direction. One wings the edge of the door frame just as Jack gets the door slid shut.

"Stand back!" Genny yells at him, and shoots the locking mechanism as he moves away. "That was close!"

"Wouldn't be fun any other way," Rose says, happily grinning her tongue-touched smile at her daughter. Answering with a grin of her own, they start off down the new corridor following Jack and Donna.

"This looks like the insides of a spaceship, Rosie," Jack tells her as they make their way up another stairway. At the landing, they see the marks of a cutting torch being used against a wall from the other side.

"That will be the Hath. They'll be here soon," Genny says.

"And then we'll have a war on our hands when Cobb gets through, too. Just peachy," Donna comments.

"Jack, this can't be the original spaceship, it's all powered up," Rose says looking around themselves. Catching sight of a computer monitor on another gangway above them, she turns to her friends. "This way. I see a computer."

As they round the next bend to reach the wanted landing, they run directly into the Doctor and Dougie.

"Doctor!" Rose exclaims, leaping into his arms. He spins her around in joyful though quick reunion. "Oh, you're filthy! What happened?" she says, stepping back and brushing herself off.

"We, ahh…we took the surface route. Got here right on time, I see," he says with a somewhat brittle though genuine smile. Rose will have to ask him later what happened; they obviously don't have time now.

"Doctor, Dougie, good to see you. The Hath and Cobb are nearly here. We are headed toward a computer terminal that Rose saw. Hopefully, that will shed some light on what the hell's going on," Jack catches them up.

Genny steps up hesitantly. She knows they're in a hurry, but she can't just ignore her first real meeting with her father. "Hi, I'm Genny. We didn't get a chance to meet properly…before, I mean."

Rose holds her breath as she watches the interaction. She can feel his hesitation warring with his instinctual desire to hug her. As the intensity of his emotions comes to a head, he steps forward and pulls her into an embrace with his long arms wrapped snug about her. "Hello, Genny. I'm the Doctor, and I'm your father," he tells her softly, resting his chin on the crown of her head for a moment.

"Time for lots of cleaner hugs and catching up later. Now, let's find out what there is to know about Messaline. Allons-y!" he says, smiling as he steps back from her, giving her arms a reassuring squeeze before turning back to follow Rose to the computer.

Donna is so proud of him, she could nearly burst. The wide happy smile on Genny's face is exactly what she'd hoped to see. Jack gives Donna a little hug as the rest of them follow after the Doctor and Rose, Dougie bringing up the rear.

Reaching the computer, the Doctor immediately begins accessing the information. The screen shows:

**_First wave of Hath/Human Co-colonisation of planet Messaline_ **

**_core subterranean deployment successful_ **

**_online and active_ **

**_phase one initiated_ **

**_Construction drones deployed_ **

**_construction of sections 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3C…_ **

"They used robot drones to build the city," the Doctor continues reading.

"But what happened? Does it say where it all went wrong?" Rose asks.

"Final entry…Mission commander dead! Second in Command, Lt. Cobb injured in same accident…Total loss of memory…'With no command structure, the Hath and Humans have divided into factions'. That's what happened. In the power vacuum, the crew divided into two factions and turned on each other," he postulates, gesturing toward the screen. "But look here, the automated medical system couldn't save the Commander, but it could save Cobb. Lacking his own memories, they wiped him and brain-buffed him with the same suite of knowledge they gave you, Genny. He thinks he's one of the progenated colonists."

"With the progenation machines, you can create two armies to fight a never ending war and they're both outside," Genny points out.

Turning to Rose, he asks, "You said he seemed angry and somewhat unstable in your communications, right?"

"That's putting it mildly, but yes. He seems to go from angry to manic in the space of a heartbeat," Rose replies. "I'll share all the details with you later."

"Wait. Doctor, my apologies, but how does this work with our current understanding of their timeframe. How long have these colonists been here?" Dougie asks.

"I can answer that," Donna replies confidently from where she's standing beneath a large red clock. "I spent six months working as a temp in Haslow Library, and I mastered the Dewey Decimal system in two days flat. I'm good with numbers," she says smugly.

Jack grins at her as Genny moves up beside her, trying to see the connections Donna has made.

"It's staring us in the face," Donna says excitedly.

"What is?" Genny asks.

"It's the date," Donna tells them, turning to the group and pointing at the clock behind her. Going through her explanation of how she figured it out, the Doctor moves excitedly to her side. Donna points out how the month and day are reversed like in America. The Doctor slaps a palm to his forehead in a eureka moment.

"Oh! It's the New Byzantine calendar! Donna, you are brilliant!"

"Oh, it gets better, Spaceman. The codes are completion dates for each section. When those robots you mentioned finish it, they stamp the date on. So, the numbers aren't counting down, they're going out, day by day, as the city got built."

"Yeeesssss….Ohhhh, good work, Donna!" the Doctor tells her, obviously impressed. She can't help but take a moment to preen, but sees she still needs to continue.

"Yes…well…thanks, but see, you're still not gettin' it. The first number we saw was 60120717…" Staring at each other, Donna rolls her eyes seeing the Doctor is  _still_  not there. Rose behind them, gasps audibly as she makes the leap and moves up beside Genny.

"Look at the date today, Doctor," Rose says, pointing at the digital display.

"0724," the Doctor replies, and then he makes the connection. "No…no, no, no…"

"But what does it mean?" Genny asks, still not seeing.

"Seven days…" he says, astonished understanding blooming across his face.

"That's it," Donna agrees. "Seven days."

"Oh, my God. It's only been seven days since the war broke out," Rose says, eyes wide in disbelief.

Shaking her head in confusion, Genny replies, "They said years."

"No, Genny, they said generations," Donna explains. "And if they're all like you, products of the machines…"

"Then they could have 20 generations in a day," the Doctor finishes. "Donna,  **you**  are a genius!"

"Each generation dies in the war, and the legend gets passed on," Rose says sadly, looking at Genny's growing confusion as she struggles to understand her place in the world she been abruptly born into.

"Doctor, all those passages that looked to be in ruins, you're suggesting they're just empty, waiting to be populated?" Dougie asks, seeing the big picture suddenly and saddened by the dramatic loss of life implied.

"They mythologised their entire story. Doctor, that means the Source must be part of it, too," Rose says as she makes the connection.

"Source?" the Doctor asks, looking confused.

"Yeah, Cobb was going on about the Breath of Life and how it would bring Peace. Of course, his idea of peace means the genocide of the Hath, but Rose told him off for you," Jack says with a proud grin.

"There will  **not**  be any genocide while I'm still alive," the Doctor grinds out through gritted teeth.

"Yup, that's pretty much what she said," Jack replies with another proud smirk.

"Does anyone else smell flowers?" Dougie asks incongruously, looking around the area puzzled at the dichotomy between his senses and all the metal and pipes.

"Yes, bougainvillaea! Good call, Dougie!" the Doctor says, sniffing deeply. "Source, source, we have to find this source. Oh, but I think I have a very good idea what that really is. Come on!" The Doctor turns, leaping up a nearby stairway, skipping every third step.

Flying up the stairs nearby, the Doctor is closely followed by Jack, Donna, and Dougie.

Genny is still having a hard time with everything that's changed so suddenly in her world view, and is hanging back.

"Mum, is it always like this?" she asks Rose, feeling a bit overwhelmed.

"Is what always like this, sweetheart? The Doctor's mania, the crazy circumstances, or the speed at which everything can change?" Rose asks with insightful understanding, having once experienced similar thoughts when she'd first met the Doctor.

"Ummm…yes?" Genny replies, smiling at her mum's answer.

"More or less, but you've done brilliantly. I felt exactly the same way on our first adventures. Wait till you aren't understanding something he's explaining, and he looks at you like you dribbled on your shirt. That's my favourite bit," she says sarcastically, trying to get her daughter to smile. Meeting with success, Rose pushes on, "I know this is all coming fast and hard, Genny, but it will get easier, I promise. Let's just get passed this last part as he saves everyone, and then I'll make you my famous cup of tea and introduce you to Darling. She's our Ship, and She's going to love you."

"Your ship is alive?"

"That and so much more…" They move to the base of the ladder as Rose tells her about the TARDIS. The distraction gives Genny the needed moment to get a grip on herself and she's thoroughly grateful. Feeling a burst of emotion towards her mother, she finds the word  _love_  fall easily into place. She  _loves_  her mum, and knows her mum  _loves_  her, too. No matter how much weirder this day gets, learning that makes everything alright.

Hearing Cobb's voice in the distance, they glance at each other and hurry up the stairs after the others.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Monday's Chapter...Peace in Our Time


	6. Peace in Our Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How often does the Doctor think he might just be getting a bit of reward when it gets snatched away? 
> 
> I borrowed bits of dialog from TDD when they were too good not to use.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry.

**6 Peace in Our Time**

Reaching the top of the stairs is a revelation. They find themselves in an arboretum of sorts, the smell of fresh growing things strong in the air. Warm breezes and soft light filter through the grating above them to the flowers and palms that are growing thickly everywhere their eyes can reach.

Seeing the Doctor still standing there looking around with a soft smile, Rose moves forward and takes his hand. He squeezes it as he looks down at her, before starting forward through the overgrowth, pushing the leafy fronds out of their way.

Coming to the end of the path through the palms, they reach a much larger open area. They can see metal through the plants, but it is filled with life all around them. In the centre of the open area is a pedestal holding a glowing orb filled with swirling green and gold light. Rose gives a little shiver seeing it, being instantly reminded of Bad Wolf and her own strange abilities.

The Doctor squeezes her hand again before loosening it to move forward toward the sphere.

"Oh, yes, yes! Isn't this brilliant?" he asks with obvious delight. Throwing off his coat in the warm humidity, he comes close to the bright sphere.

"It's beautiful," Genny says in wonder, joining him. "What is it?"

"Terraforming," he tells her, pleased at her interest. "It's a third generation terraforming device."

"Is the sphere why we are surrounded by this lovely garden, Doctor?" Dougie asks, looking around them with evident happiness.

"Well, yes. Doing all this must keep it stable. It's currently in a transitional state," he explains, waving at the lush greenery around them. "Terraforming is like this, but on a much,  _much_  larger scale. It must be waiting…"

They're interrupted as the Hath suddenly burst through the tropical plants behind them and the Humans across the way, led by a very dangerous looking General Cobb.

Jack and the Doctor immediately move between the factions and their family. Arms spread and palms open, the Doctor begins what he does best; trying to diffuse the potentially hostile situation. His experience with the Hath told him that  _they_  at least are willing to have peace. He just needs to convince Cobb.

"Stop! Hold your fire!" he shouts at both sides.

"What is this, some kind of trap?" Cobb asks, backed up by his soldiers, all pointing rifles either at the Doctor or the Hath as they look around nervously.

Rose can't help herself, and since she actually has experience with Cobb, she moves to the Doctor's side, hoping to finally get through to the Human's warmongering leader. She feels sorry for him, now that she knows what happened to him, why he seems so unstable. Maybe she can get through to him.

"You said you wanted this war over," she says to Cobb.

"I want this war won," he replies fiercely.

"You can't win, no one can," the Doctor adds. Turning to involve the Hath as well, he continues, "You don't even know what started this war. Your whole history is just whispers in the dark, getting more distorted the more it's passed on, generation to generation."

"Cobb, you were hurt in an accident that killed the commander. You weren't progenated," Rose tells him, hoping to see a spark of recognition. He blinks at her a couple of times in confusion, but gets distracted as the Doctor starts speaking again.

He's moved up beside the terraforming sphere, with Donna and Dougie behind him. Jack is closer to the Hath, and Genny near Rose.

Gesturing to the sphere, the Doctor begins to try and explain why they're here.

" **This** …is the Source," he says with emphasis. "This is what you're fighting over. A device to rejuvenate a planet's ecosystem. It's not a weapon. It isn't anything mystical. It's from a laboratory, not some made-up creator."

Moving away from it now, he steps close to Rose as he begins expanding on his premise, now that he sees he's got their attention.

"It's a bubble of gasses, a cocktail of stuff to force accelerated evolution. Hydrogen, methane, ammonia, amino acids, proteins, nucleic acids, it's used…to make barren planets habitable," he explains, his own wonder at the possibilities obvious in his oration.

"Can't you see, Cobb? It isn't for killing, it's for bringing life, if you let it," Rose pleads with him again.

Looking around between the Hath and the Humans, the Doctor tries with words and the force of his will alone to make them understand the incredible potential they have at the fingertips.

"If you let it, this could raise you out of these dark tunnels and into the light of a brand new day, on your brand new planet. Think of how much more you could do together than at each other's throats. You were meant to do this as a team. You came to Messaline as partners."

Genny is completely focused on her father as he's speaking. The blatant love and respect for the species he's speaking to is so evident to her. She's in awe of how he can see so much beauty in such a horrible situation-one he's only been in for less than a day. The realisation slams home and she's filled with a fierce pride. That's her father and he's going to fix this!

Seeing the Doctor move to the terraforming sphere and pick it up with determination, Rose and Genny back up toward him so he can take advantage of his finale.

Taking Genny's hand, Rose leans in to whisper in her ear, "This is my favourite part!" The two women grin at each other and watch as the Doctor looks at the Hath leader and back to Cobb over the sphere in his arms.

"No more killing," raising the Source high, his voice rings out filling the space. "I am the Doctor! And I say this war is over!" Throwing the Source to the floor, it bursts, releasing the golden dust and green energy into the air around them. The Humans and Hath both gaze on in fascination, following the progression of the gasses around and then up and beyond them.

Starting with Cline, and moving through the Human ranks, they all begin dropping their weapons as they continue to watch in amazement as the living energy fills the air above them.

The Hath, too, lay their arms down, more than willing to end the unproductive fighting.

Cobb looks around himself in confusion as his soldiers and his enemies disarm themselves. His mind is filled with a rage he doesn't understand, and the voices ringing in his head argue constantly.

Part of him rejoices in the perceived end of this pointless revolution, but another part of him rages against the pacifistic ideals of this invader and his woman. How dare they come in here and ruin everything, turning a soldier against her kind. He had it all under control. This is not how this was supposed to happen. The stinking Hath are still alive! Therefore, all his people are still in jeopardy.

Rose senses Cobb's turmoil and moves to the Doctor's side as Genny asks him what's happening. She gets distracted by the self-satisfied grin her husband is wearing as he's rocking back and forth on his heels, smiling openly at Genny's inquiry. Rose is completely arrested when he bends down, putting his face next to hers, and begins telling her about how the gases will escape and filter outward affecting profound changes on the planet, pointing as he explains. Seeing them this way, Rose can see so much of her Doctor in Genny as they grin at each other in delight at the prospect of this completely new beginning.

Cobb is also watching the exchange between the Doctor and his stolen machine-born soldier. That strange man may be her genetic donor, but she is  _his_  soldier; and seeing her happy, consorting with this… this  _heathen,_  squashes the benevolent voice in his head under a wave of blinding hostility. He almost feels his heart ready to burst from his chest it's beating so hard in righteous indignation. Then, seeing the woman who caused him so much grief step up to form a radiant trio is the last straw. His vision swims red and he's nearly blinded by the intense hatred that boils up, just as Rose steps between Cobb and the Doctor.

Genny, sensing some change in the air before anyone else, looks over just as Cobb raises his gun, his face a rictus of hate. With a gasp and without another thought, Genny throws herself at Rose, knocking her back just as Cobb fires his pistol, the bullet unerringly finding a home deep within her chest. She looks down at the wound in surprise as her legs collapse and the strong arms of her father catch her, gently guiding her down. Lifting a hand to the gushing hole, does nothing to stop the flow of dark red. Raising her eyes to her dad's, Genny is caught by the depth of sadness and regret there. Instantly she understands that she's dying. Her limbs are so heavy and she's tired, but she smiles at her father, hoping he knows that even one day with him was worth it.

Dougie has barely caught Rose, keeping her safe from falling, before she's launches herself to Genny's side where she lays in the Doctor's arms, blood welling from the hole in her chest through her fingers. Jack and Donna rush to her as well, as Dougie comes up behind the Doctor, touching him gently, knowing what he'll need. Dougie gently takes his place, as the Doctor stands turning away from his wife and daughter to confront the man that has just torn his new family apart.

Pressing her hands to the wound in Genny's chest, Rose looks up to Jack and Dougie for help.

"She'll regenerate, right?" she asks them before returning her gaze to Genny's less focused one. "You'll be okay, Genny. There's this thing that Time Lords do called regeneration," Rose tries to tell her, trying not to give in to the sobs that threaten to overtake her. "You'll change, sweetheart, but inside you'll still be you, and we'll go on exploring. There's so much to see. Stay with me, Genny.  ** _Doctor_**!  ** _Help me_**!" Rose pleads.

Hearing Rose's heartsfelt pleading sends the Doctor very close to an edge he hasn't toed in a while. Closing his eyes a moment, he opens them and begins to stalk slowly toward where Cobb is being restrained by his own people. Cobb had acted so quickly and so against everyone else around him that he'd surprised them, and the Doctor can see by the look in the young man's eyes that's restraining him-he'll blame himself for Genny's death his entire life.

The dispair he sees in the Doctor's eyes drags Jack instantly to his feet, following the Doctor. While understanding his anger and sense of betrayal, Jack knows that he would never  _plan_  to kill Cobb, and he'll be there to make sure he doesn't. Jack doesn't want a relapse like they'd seen with Dr. Coriolanus on Relitarium 5.

"Donna, I don't know what to do," Rose pleads brokenly to her, seeing the Doctor move like a predator toward Cobb instead of helping her. Part of her understands and wants to rip Cobb limb from limb, but right now, Genny needs her more than her rage needs to avenge itself on Cobb. Maybe that's how it works for her and the Doctor. He'll take care of the rage, while she takes care of the grief? That isn't fair, and she makes sure he knows how she's feels, opening herself up wide so he can feel everything she does.

"Rose, my friend," Dougie says gently. "We are all here for Genny. Let us love her through this transition, whatever it may be." He understands both of his friends better than they do themselves sometimes. Giving Rose the comfort the Doctor can not at the moment, is his charge, and laying a hand to her shoulder he sends her a wave of strength and caring—bolstering her through whatever happens next.

Rose immediately stops projecting. Dougie's right, and he's just as vulnerable to her focused hurt and misery as the Doctor. She hadn't considered that, just reacted. "I'm sorry Dougie," she whispers, glancing at him before returning her gaze to her daughter's.

"Genny, look at me, baby," Rose says, laying her free hand against her face. Genny's eyes slowly focus on her.

"A whole new world, mum," she says quietly, smiling up at the beautiful lights that are so bright.

"That's right, sweetheart. A whole new world here and a whole Universe for us to see. We can go anywhere, everywhere. You pick, my sweet girl."

"That sounds nice," she replies, trying to nod. Rose is trying not to look down at her hand, where Genny's blood is refusing to stop flowing. Where is the sign? Why hasn't the golden fire started?

"You're our daughter, Genny Tyler, and we only just got started. You're going to be completely brilliant. You hear me, baby girl? Utterly amazing."

One second, Genny is there, looking out at her from her beautiful dark, blue-grey eyes. The next, she's gone, and her gaze slides sideways as her body goes limp within Dougie's gentle embrace.

" **NO**! Genny, no. She's just unconscious, right? She'll start regenerating any minute now. Genny…no…" Rose collapses onto Genny's still form, sobbing out as Donna holds her, being her strength. Looking up at Dougie as he gently eases Genny to the floor, he shakes his head slightly and Donna doubles her grip on her sobbing friend, letting her own tears fall silently down her cheeks.

The Doctor's tenuous grip on his emotions tightens to near breaking as he feels Genny slip from his mind, and his last few steps toward Cobb happen faster than any human's could as he bends down, grabbing Cobb's gun, cocking it, and pressing into the old man's skull in the space of one heartbeat.

Jack tenses, but stays where he is. For some reason, he doesn't think the Doctor will actually shoot Cobb. The waves of fury and hurt are rolling off of him, but they aren't focused. If this had been Rose though, he would have already been restraining her. Jack is very thankful that Dougie is watching Rose. His calming nature will hopefully keep her away from Cobb's insanity. The insanity that is clearly visible on his face as he still gazes defiantly at the Doctor, not caring one whit what he chooses to do. The Doctor glares at the man kneeling at his feet, his gaze black in his anger and knows the man is sick and beyond reason. That doesn't make what's happened any easier, but he won't kill him.

Breathing heavily at the emotional onslaught that's raging in his own hearts, this revelation breaks the tension. Abruptly kneeling in front of the restrained man, the Doctor's black eyes are riveted to Cobb's blue, as he uncocks the pistol, twisting it and gesturing with it while holding the barrel.

"I never would," he says in a tone that is almost conversational. "Do you understand me? You killed her, and still I.. ** _never_** … ** _would_**." The Doctor locks gazes with the man one more time, but he can see that nothing he's said has made it through the man's psychosis. He's too damaged. Stepping away from him, the Doctor needs to make the point for those it will actually benefit—the Humans and Hath that will shape their infant world.

"When you start this new world, this world…of Human and Hath," the Doctor begins, his grief plain on his face in the tracks of the tears that now flow and in the catch of his voice. Still holding Genny's hand, Rose turns to watch her husband as she hears him begin speaking for the population.

"Remember that. Make the foundation of this society,  **A MAN WHO NEVER WOULD!** " he yells, looking directly at Rose, so she can see the depth of the suffering in his eyes. Turning back to the Hath and sparing a glance at the Humans, the Doctor throws the weapon aside as he walks back to his shattered family.

Taking a place beside Rose, he wraps his arms around her, and takes her blood soaked fingers in his where they clutch their daughter's still hand tightly. Pulling Rose against him, he holds her through another bout of sobbing as Donna, Jack, and Dougie form a circle around them, giving them space for their grief.

Cline sends two soldiers to lock up Cobb. Turning, he nods to his people as he walks up to the circle, pauses a moment head bowed, before moving on. His people follow him, doing the same, paying their respects to the Doctor's and their own loss.

Gable, the leader of the Hath, walks to Dougie's side of the circle to do the same. Laying his hand briefly on Dougie's shoulder, he too moves on, allowing his people a chance to show their respect for the fallen as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, you can hate me a little. BUT! I'm not going to leave it here. I have plans for a girl...-hands rubbing- oh, yes, great plans! :-)
> 
> Wednesday's chapter...7 The Exhalations of Grief are Life
> 
> Thanks for reading, and any and all reviews are greatly appreciated. Beta'd and previewed by Ash and Layla.


	7. The Exhalations of Grief are Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What is it that makes a Time Lord regenerate?

**7 The Exhalations of Grief are Life**

_-Doctor, why isn't she regenerating? Isn't she like us?-_ Incapable of speaking, Rose asks using her mind instead.

_-Oh, Rose. No, I guess she isn't enough like us. She was Gallifreyan, but without certain traits she wasn't a Time Lord and can't regenerate. I'm so sorry. I had so many ideas about where to take her first-_

_-She_ **_was_ ** _so like you, you know. So enthusiastic, she learned the choice between killing and finding another way, and was excited when it made sense to her. You would have been so proud-_

_-Rose, my precious, precious Rose. I_ ** _am_** _proud. I am so, so proud of both of you. Will you share her with me later, so I can know her the way you did? I missed out...on knowing our daughter-_ Rose senses the echoes of so much loss from him and it only adds to her misery.

 _-Of course. I…I need to get to the TARDIS, though. I'm not feeling well, the baby is upset. He felt her go, too, because I was holding her, and I need to rest. They'll take care of her, won't they?-_ she asks, momentarily fearful. _-She was born here, I think it's fitting she should stay-_

_-I agree. I'll make sure she's taken care of. Go with Dougie. I'll be along-_

Silently, they sit vigil for another few minutes before he helps Rose stand and allows Dougie to take her, having already communicated his plans to him. Dougie moves away with Rose to Donna to Jack's side. They exchange a few quiet words, and Donna wraps an arm around Rose as Jack looks back to the silent figure grieving by his daughter's body.

The Doctor looks over at Jack a moment, nods, and mouths, "Thank you," to him. Jack straightens and gives him a crisp and unusually sincere salute. This serves to pull one side of the Doctor's mouth up toward a small smile. Seeing his success, Jack turns and follows the others to the TARDIS, leaving the final arrangements to the Doctor.

* * *

The Doctor stands, communing silently with Genny. Telling her all the things they could have done and seen. All the trouble her mum would get them into. And he apologises for letting her down. If he had realised how out of control Cobb was, things would have ended differently. Everything was going so well, he'd allowed himself to get distracted, and it cost him the life of his accidental daughter. Learning the snippets of their escapades through Rose's brief communications had only been enough to scratch the surface of this brilliant young woman. It frustrates him to no end that something drastic always has to happen before the short-lived peoples finally get it. Well, thinking on it, drastic is in the eye of the beholder, because it took a different kind of drastic to get his own  _long-lived_  people to get a clue.

Kneeling down, he gathers her body into his arms and standing again, turns to leave the room. At the door, Gable and Cline are waiting for him, ready to lead a procession through the tunnels back to the theatre. The way is lined with all of their people, both Human and Hath, standing silently in observance of her sacrifice. After a few paces, observance is no longer enough… a Hath reaches out and gently brushes her shoulder, the next a human touches her hand, and another her hair. As the Doctor carries her through the tunnels the Humans and Hath briefly touch her, acknowledging in their own way that she was there-she had been one of them.

Initially, the Doctor wants to stop them, the touching being so against his own ways. But he calms himself, actually feeling the need in the people around him. They are grieving for his loss in a way he cannot yet, and he can be grateful to them.

Moving through the tunnels, they finally reach the theatre that had been the staging area for the earlier Human resistance. Now, there is a table set up for him to lay Genny on, dappled in the ever changing rays of the Terraforming reactions that are taking place on the other side of the windows.

"Would you let us give her a proper ceremony, Doctor?" Cline asks and Gable nods in agreement. "I think it would be good for us. We promise to do right be her, honour her sacrifice, and your and Rose's teachings. We could have learned so much from you. I'm sorry it happened this way. I hope you'll check in on us someday. See what we've made of ourselves, now that you've given us another chance."

The Doctor has no room for any words of his own, but he nods his agreement. Turning to leave, he pauses at the door, looking back at Genny one last time, before making his lonely way to the TARDIS.

Reaching the familiar blue box, he's greeted with a wave of strong love from Her when he lays his hand against the door prior to opening it. Her unconditional support pulls a smile to his lips, and he thanks Her as he pushes the door open and makes his way up the ramp with slow tired steps.

Reaching the Console, the Doctor finally looks up to see Dougie, Jack, and Donna looking at him. Squelching the desperate need to be alone, he moves to take them into the Vortex. Everyone takes their places and helps…silently. Once safely floating within the timelessness of the Vortex, the Doctor sighs deeply, leaning back against one of the struts.

Rose enters the room, freshly showered and wrapped in a blanket. Guilt sweeps over the Doctor for not going to her immediately, but letting her deal with her grief alone. That has always been his way, but it's not hers. Stepping away from the strut to go to her, she moves past him to the jump seat without looking up.

Feeling even worse for her rejection, no matter how deserved, he falls back against the coral again, receiving another supportive wave from the TARDIS.

 ** _~She grieves and worries, my Thief. That is not your doing~_**  the TARDIS tells him frankly.

 _/No, but I wasn't there for her either, and that is,/_  he replies.

**_~She holds no blame in her heart for you, but you will have to explain Rassilon's Imprimatur. She was insistent~_ **

_/Well, I have enough blame for both of us then, and I will, thank you./_

**_~My beautiful idiot, blame is useless. Genny was why I brought you here. I did not realise you would also create her. I am the one who missed the paradox and brought you early~_ **

_/I'm not sure that's entirely accurate. Genny wouldn't have been made at all if we hadn't landed. They'd already put all the others through the progenator machines multiple times. She wouldn't have been different enough without us, and it was Rose's compassion and beliefs that shaped her beyond the teaching she was born with. Still a paradox, but a very unavoidable one./_

The TARDIS brushes his mind again, and he returns the affection, though his hearts yearn to go to Rose.

"Were we brought to Messaline because of Genny, Doctor?" Jack asks astutely.

"Yes. The TARDIS and I were just going over it. She hadn't realised Genny was a paradox, an endless paradox."

"I wouldn't have changed it," Rose says from the jump seat, startling them. As they all look at her, she pushes her hair back behind her ears, looking very sad and very young as she sits, her grief plain to see.

"I would never choose to miss this day. A different ending would've been nice, but I wouldn't have changed anything else about meeting her, making her."

"Me, either, Rose," the Doctor says, his own voice thick, and they hears sounds of agreement from the other three as well. Pushing away from the strut, he takes a step forward to join her, but she raises a hand, stilling him.

"Please tell me about the Imprimatur. The TARDIS said I had to ask you, so I am. What is it and how would it keep Genny from regenerating?"

The Doctor stiffens at her question and hesitates, feeling all eight pairs of eyes fixed on him. The Imprimatur is one of the best kept Time Lord secrets—the one most easily hidden, because it just wasn't spoken of. Feeling hundreds of years worth of tradition fluttering around his ears in trepidation, he choose to ignore them. Keeping their secrets hadn't kept them from the War, or from dying, or from being locked away.

He's told these people about the War, about how his people destroyed as much as they saved in their misguided attempts to be the victors in an unwinnable battle for more than their precious secrets. How is this any different? These four people, well four and a half, are his family. Reminding himself of what Rose is constantly trying to pound into his skull—he isn't doing this alone.

"Well," he starts, feeling more-or-less at ease with his decision, but not more comfortable with the subject matter itself. Turning back toward the console and running his hands through his hair, he stuffs them in his pockets before he continues, "In his prime, Rassilon discovered or invented (the stories differ) a symbiotic nuclei present within a Gallifreyan's cells. He postulated that the nuclei developed because of the presence of the Schism when it still resided within the planet's crust, and our evolution near it. Once the Schism was uncovered, he began experimenting with how the raw forces of time worked within it and affected us. With this knowledge, he manipulated and altered the nuclei to be more stable, so that when charged by exposure to the raw energies present within the Schism, they activated.

"In my time, this stage made you a junior Time Lord at the age of 8. That is if it didn't drive you immediately insane or kill you on the spot, which happened occasionally. While any Gallifreyan could become a Time Lord, not all were. The great Time Lord Houses took precedence, but gifted children could test for a chance to see the Schism, a dubious honour, I assure you. But it had to be children to be mentally flexible enough to withstand the changes.

"The exposure to the Schism activates not only our ability to withstand the Vortex, and to bond with and utilise the TARDIS, but most importantly, it opened our temporal senses and expanded our awareness of our dimensionality. The century or so we spend in the Academy is to teach us how to use and control this new awareness and abilities—one of those abilities being regeneration. That's why we only get thirteen initially, but can be granted more, by being given fresh symbiotic nuclei. That's what the Sphynx did for us when she remade you and zapped me."

"But what does that all mean for me or Genny? I haven't seen the Schism. And why didn't I know about the Imprimatur? What good is having all this knowledge if it  **can't**   **help**?" Rose ends yelling, fresh tears standing in her eyes.

"My Rose, you are something special, something unique," the Doctor says tenderly, going to her despite the anger. Taking her face in his hands, he needs her to understand. "You were made this way, like Genny in a sense, but from the TARDIS herself and by a pan-dimensional being that was feeling generous one day. I can spend the rest of my life trying to understand how you exist, Rose Tyler, but I'd rather just live it with you."

Seeing the sincerity in his eyes, she relaxes against him, allowing him to comfort her, where she couldn't before. He wraps his arms tightly about her, rocking them gently.

Hearing a small, polite cough behind them, the Doctor and Rose suddenly remember that they are, in fact, not alone in the room.

"Doctor, Rose, I know this is, of course, a sensitive subject, but I have a question based on what you just shared," Dougie says cautiously.

"Yes, Dougie, please," Rose responds, wiping her eyes and trying to smile for him. The Doctor stands next to Rose protectively; he is not smiling.

Seeing the Doctor's expression, does the exact opposite of stopping him, if that was his intention. Dougie thinks these two need a little more hope in their lives, and he feels the importance of this in his soul.

"I wonder, since Genny was made from both your genetic material, that the Imprimatur nuclei may have actually been there, though partially dormant, especially with Rose's being a different variety. Would exposure to the terraforming energies not, in a sense, act like the Schism on a newly formed Gallifreyan body? Perhaps we should have waited a bit longer, or perhaps it would happen differently. I have a very strong feeling we should check, Doctor."

The Doctor's expression has grown thunderous through Dougie's postulating, as he feels the glimmer of hope twitch in his own hearts. There's no way he can ignore the bonfire that has erupted in Rose's beside him; their bond is alive with it—hope.

"Doctor, we have to check. What if Dougie's right?" Rose asks, pleading with her eyes.

"What if he's not?" he retorts, moving away from her to begin fiddling agitatedly at the console. "We were there for hours afterward. It shouldn't have taken so long if there was hope."

"Well, technically we were only there for 2 hours and 12 minutes after…well after Genny…fell," Jack manages against the Doctor's glare.

Donna nudges Jack with an elbow, smiling proudly at him when he glances at her. He squeezes her shoulders but locks his eyes on the Doctor.

"Doctor, please. I want to know. Even if we find we're wrong," Rose tries again.

"And what then?" he asks rudely, throwing his hands in the air and pacing in front of the console; a caged tiger that's being poked. "What are you going to do if they've  _embalmed_  her? How are you going to feel if they  _burned_  her, which is what I almost told them to do, but they asked to make their own ceremony, and I allowed it." The misery and anger plain on his face as he turns a baleful eye in his wife's direction, is at war with the tiny spark of hope she can feel trickle through their link.

"What are you going to do if they came up with something you don't understand? How do you think that will feel?" he finishes, his belligerent tirade winding down until they almost need to lean in to hear the last bit.

"Then we celebrate her life with them and leave. Doctor, it doesn't hurt to know," Donna tries, seeing the stunned look on Rose's face.

"No, it hurts to say goodbye again," Rose says, understanding what the Doctor is really feeling. Hope is wonderful, but how often has it been snatched away. He's afraid.

"Stay in the TARDIS if it will be easier for you, but I need to go. If I can, I need to see her again. I didn't really get a chance to say goodbye. I was too upset and worried about our son," Rose says, laying a hand to her belly.

That move decides him. He may not like it, but he can't deny her the opportunity when she was robbed of it earlier, trying to protect their unborn child.

Stepping angrily away from the strut, the Doctor moves to the monitor and fights with it a moment before sending them through the landing sequence.

"Fine!" he yells at the ship. Slamming the materialisation switch home, they land less gently than before, Rose catching herself on the jump seat and the others against the railing. Ignoring them all, the Doctor moves with quick angry steps down the ramp and through the doors.

Darling assures Rose, that while Her Thief is being dramatic, She would never have allowed Her Wolf to be harmed. Rose, in turn, reassures Darling that she understands. The Doctor will be fine; he's just angry with…well, everything at the moment. He hasn't had the chance to process anything yet, and he's a little out of practise at hiding from his emotions, so he's feeling overwhelmed—Rose understands.

Following him out of the TARDIS, they find themselves in a hallway just down from the theatre. Running down the passage towards them are Cline and Gable, surprise evident on their faces…well, on Cline's face.

"Doctor, Rose! When we mentioned your returning, we expected it would be years, not the very next day, but welcome. What can we do?" Cline asks, a little out of breath.

 _Ahh...that explains some of the anger,_  Rose thinks to herself. The Doctor was assuredly trying to land them moments after they left-not a day. Anything can happen in a day.

"We need to see Genny," Rose says, stepping past the fuming Doctor.

"She isn't with you? We assumed…"

"What did you assume? What happened?" the Doctor asks roughly as he takes a half step forward, his posture changing completely, appearing almost hostile.

"Tell us  _exactly_  what happened Cline.  _Please_ ," Rose pleads, laying a hand on the Doctor's elbow, feeling the explosion of white hot Hope flair through his mind.

As the others gather close, Cline explains that yesterday, he and Gable were discussing what would be best for the ceremony. As he was covering her with a sheet and laying her head on a pillow, the movement must have jostled something because a bubble of glowing gas was expelled from her mouth. She then opened her eyes and sat straight up. Coughing a moment, she spit out a small misshapen lump of metal.

"She said, 'Hello, boys,' and was up off the table like a shot. We were so surprised, Gable and I, that we had to run to try and catch up to her. But she outpaced us; amazing runner, that one." He grins at the chuckles and gasps coming from his listeners.

"Then, we heard her begin to power up the shuttle and so we followed the noise to the launch bay. We reached her through the comm system, but she wouldn't listen to reason," Cline tells a rapt audience. Even the Doctor is hanging on his every word now, clinging to Rose's hand. Dougie stands near, grinning like it's Christmas, and Donna is leaning back in Jack's arms, tears standing in her eyes.

"Did she say anything else, Cline?" Roses asks excitedly.

"Did she ever. I'll take her words with me to my grave, I will. She said, 'Sorry, Can't stop. What you gonna do, tell my Dad?'" The Doctor snorts his amusement as Cline continues, "Then I said, 'But where you goin' Genny?' Her reply Doctor, was cheeky and inspiring. We're thinking of having the robots carve it on the walls of the theatre," he says, beaming at them.

"Yes, of course. Great idea. Then what'd she say?" the Doctor asks impatiently.

"Then she said, 'Oh, I've got the whole Universe…planets to save, civilisations to rescue, creatures to defeat, and an awful lot of running to do.' That's it. Then she was gone, right out of the atmosphere," Cline finishes, looking at them expectantly.

Donna bursts into loud tears, turning into Jack's chest. "I told her all that! When she asked what they did for a livin'!"

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" Rose exclaims, first hugging a surprised Gable and then Cline. Turning, she throws herself into the Doctor's arms where he swings her around in joy.

"For once, Rose Tyler, I am so glad I was wrong. Thank you for proving me wrong," he says, kissing the tears from her cheeks.

"Well, if you would learn to listen to your better half, you daft man, we wouldn't be making a habit of this. Let's go find our daughter!" Rose says, dragging him back toward the TARDIS, waving and thanking Gable and Cline.

"We'll be back!" are Rose's parting words, as the sound of the Universe breathing fills the passage and they watch the TARDIS phase out of sight.

"Maybe we should add that to the walls, too. What do you think, Gable?"

"burble," the Hath replies.

"My thoughts exactly. Two exciting days in a row, hope it's not a trend."

"burble, burble."

"Me, too. Let's go see what they're making for supper."

* * *

"What do you mean you can't find her, Doctor?" Rose asks, bringing him another cup of tea.

"Exactly that, I can't follow her ion trail because of all the interference from the terraforming. There are so many processes taking place down there that it's masking all traces of her ship," he responds in frustration, scrubbing his face tiredly before accepting the tea from Rose. He's been working at this for several hours.

She slumps down on the jump seat, disappointed. "Do you wonder if she thought we'd abandoned her?" she asks quietly, staring into her cup.

Leaving the Console, he sits down next to her, pulling her close to his side. "Nah. You heard what she said. Those weren't the words of an abandoned girl. They were the words of an excited young woman, raring for her first adventure. We'll find her, Rose, or she'll find us. If she's as jeopardy friendly as you are, I'm sure we'll come across her at some point," he says with a grin, knowing he's about to get swatted.

"Oi!" Rose laughs and swats him on the arm, not wanting to disappoint him. "That goes for you, too. Never one to find trouble or make it more like, are you, Doctor?" she teases him, deliberately poking her tongue through her teeth.

"Oh, Rose Tyler," he sighs, hugging her before getting to his feet as an enormous yawn cracks his face open. "I don't know about you, but I think the companions have the right of it this time. Fancy a bit of sleeping, wife?"

"I think that's a capitol idea, husband. Lead the way," she replies as she tucks her hand through his offered arm, and they make their way through the humming corridors toward the sanctuary of their bedroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not dead, and they know it! I always thought it was so sad that Jenny lived and the Doctor didn't know, especially since they haven't brought her back yet in the show. And since FF and AU is all about fixing the wrongs that made us sad...here we go! -grin-
> 
> So many, many views and reads; thanks people; you're the best! Take the time to review and your the sprinkles on top! :-)
> 
> Friday's Chapter: Navigations Beyond Frustration/ The Doctor finally tries his hand at Manifesting with...interesting results. Cheers!


	8. Navigations Beyond Frustration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor has a little trouble Manifesting with Rose and Jack...okay a lot of trouble...that he causes. -sigh- Or maybe he's just being difficult.

**8 Navigations Beyond Frustration**

**SMASH!**

"Why does this have to be so bleeding difficult!?"

"Doctor, you're the one making it difficult. Jack and I aren't having any problems. I told you…"

"I know what you told me, but it doesn't make sense! Block transfer mathematics do  _not_  need…"

"You've said all that already, and what we're doing is  _like_  block transfer maths, but isn't exactly the same, and since you  _refuse_  to follow my lead…YOU AREN'T GOING TO SUCCEED!"

Rose's frustration with the Doctor's unwillingness to work with them on the Spherical Gallifreyan is starting to really exasperate her. For three hours now, they have been trying the dish routine. Rose tried alone, showing him how it didn't work, and then she and Jack did it together and…voila—plate!

But no matter how many times she tried to explain why, the Doctor was insistent that it couldn't be that simple and not be doable on one's own. Teamwork not really being his strong suit, he continued to attempt to make more and more complicated Manifestations that refused to either exist at all or fully take shape. The Music Room (the specialised space the TARDIS originally made for them to practise in) is nearly an inch deep in abortive dust.

"But, Rooose, I..."

"Right. You've decided to be a bullheaded arse, and I've decided to be done for the day. The baby and I are tired. When you've decided to  **stop**  being a plonker, I'll be in the Library."

With a flip of her long blonde hair and a frown that could stop a Dalek in its tracks, Rose heads resolutely towards the door.

"See you later, Jack. Thanks for all the assistance," she says sweetly, giving him an eye roll and a small grin.

Not wanting to let on that he knows she's not as mad as she projecting, he gives a little wave as she leaves the room. Then, he turns his own gaze back to the fuming Time Lord in the centre of the space.

"You know you're being a prick, right?" Jack asks in a perfectly reasonable tone.

"I'll thank you, Harkness, to keep the commentary to a minimum," the Doctor snarks back.

"No, you'll thank me when you get over yourself and make this work. The problem is you  _think_  you know what's supposed to happen, but you don't.  **You**  haven't done it. Rose and I have, and since we're successful, your ego is affronted and now you have to do it your way. So how's that workin' for ya' right now, Doc?" Jack finishes, rushing through what he wanted to get out before the Doctor could interrupt him.

Jack watches the Doctor grow preternaturally still as his comment plays out, his shoulders hunching. Jack knows his eyes will be dark with anger, and as he's about to consider an apology when the Doctor's posture relaxes in defeat and he slumps to the floor cross-legged. Jack smiles because unknowingly, the Doctor is mimicking the same posture Rose had adopted in the middle of her own first frustrating day filled with the same sorts of problems.

"Rose probably thinks I'm stupid," the Doctor grouses like 3 year-old.

"I seriously doubt that. Look, I'm sorry for …"

"No. You're right, Jack. I'm the one who's sorry. I was being an arrogant arse. I'm so lost in the big picture that I can't see all the small steps that lead to it. And I've been…distracted since Messaline," he says honestly, sifting some of the impossible dust through his fingers.

It had been three weeks since they'd left Messaline, running from planet, to space station, to outpost—all for nothing. No one had seen or heard of a Genny Tyler. The Doctor and Rose had less patience with their companion's quirks for a day or so after one of these failed landings, so earlier this week, they'd decided to stop trying so hard. They knew she was out there and eventually they'd find each other.

It was Rose who suggested they work on the Spherical Gallifreyan. She might be regretting that now.

"Did you know," the Doctor begins again, playing with the dust, "that with Block transfer maths, you could conceivably create planets and star systems, maybe even whole galaxies? Though the computing power needed for that would be beyond anything we could come up with. And here I am, can't even manage a teacup." Picking up a half-formed one from the floor, it gives out its little golden spark before falling to dust—like all the rest.

"But see that's the thing, Doctor. Your fancy maths  _require_  the computing power. What you and Rose, and to a certain extent me, need to do is much more visceral. We are, in a way, sculpting with the creative stuff of the Universe itself," Jack explains, moving to sit in front of the Doctor. "I know that sounds pretentious and ridiculous, but it's the best I can do."

The Doctor blinks at him a few times, thinking furiously. Then an enormous grin splits his face.

"Jack, you're brilliant! That's exactly what it is, and what I wasn't seeing." Leaping to his feet, he begins pacing back and forth as he continues thinking out loud, kicking bits of debris out of his way. "That's exactly what I needed to hear… _the stuff of the Universe_ , and we're sculpting it with focused intentions through song because that's how the TARDIS interfaced with Rose initially. Brilliant! I bet Dougie would be world class at this! Wait! Not until I figure it out, okay?" he asks earnestly, turning to look at Jack fully.

Laughing at him for being insecure while at the same time figuring at how to make planets with his mind, Jack steps forward with a cheeky grin and claps the Doctor on the shoulder. "Not a moment before, I promise," he intones solemnly. "Now, do you want to try again and bring the missus some tea in her new cup and saucer we're about to make?"

With an answering grin, the Doctor nods, taking a couple of steps away and humming a clear note. Jack comes in half a step lower, and the Doctor begins crafting his intention in golden circles and dots in the air of the room.

* * *

"Rose, I'm sorry I was being so awful. Will you forgive me? I made you tea," the Doctor says apologetically as he enters the Library and moves toward where Rose is sitting, looking out the large picture window.

Today the Gallifreyan landscape is in full sun without a cloud in the sky. The mountains are so crisp and clear in the distance, they almost look unreal…which technically they are…sort of.

It's been 2 hours since she left in a huff, and in that time, she's had a chance to work out with Darling why he's being so difficult, and to let the mood go. She's ready to forgive him. Not being able to find Genny had been stressful on all of them, but especially the Doctor. He still feels responsible for her death-like he does..idjit!

Turning to observe him as he makes his way across the room, she notices the lone teacup and saucer.

"Of course, I forgive you, you pillock. Oh! Where did these come from? I don't recognise them. Are you getting me preemptive presents, now?" she teases him, smiling softly at the earnest look on his face.

"Oh! Would that work? It's an excellent idea," he teases back, tense lines in his face easing into a matching smile at her forgiveness. "While they are a present, I didn't get them  _for_  you, I  _made_  them…well, Jack helped…a little," he admits with a sheepish grin.

"You did it! I knew you could!" Rose enthuses. Jack must have  _finally_  gotten through to him. If he were here, she'd kiss him in relieved thanks.

"Oh, Doctor, they're wonderful, but how'd you get the design on it, too?" Rose questions him as she silently asks Darling to move the new Holiday dishes she'd made with holly leaves and berries on them to a cupboard the Doctor will never find on his own. He should feel like his accomplishment was special at the beginning.

"Isn't that great? I did it accidentally!" he chirps happily. "I was thinking about how a Rose on your cup would be nice while we were working, and then—Wham!—there it was," he tells her, preening.

That  **is**  something. It had taken her days to get it to work, and she'd been trying to do it on  _purpose_  once Darling told her it was possible. Maybe she'll bring out the new dishes a little early after all-can't let him get too inflated.

Finally navigating the full cup and saucer across the Library with a minimum of spillage, he sets it down on the table next to Rose and sits next to her on the floor, resting his head in her lap and an arm around her back. They stay like that, with Rose running her fingers through his hair as they look out at the beautiful sky, and she enjoys her tea in its brand new cup.

At the door, Jack tiptoes away back to the Kitchen and the rest of the gang who are awaiting the progress report. He'd silently followed after the Doctor, eavesdropping and praying the making up would go well. Reaching the door of the Kitchen, he saunters in, arms raised, "Success! No dismemberment today!"

Dougie and Donna cheer and clap as Jack makes his way to sit next to Donna.

"The Spaceman had better learn to behave. Rose and I have talked about her mom's pregnancy, and she was a lunatic the last several months. Now I know Rose is only a third of the way but still," she says, taking a sip of her tea.

"Interesting, the women in my own species would seclude themselves for the final two months, only seen by other women. The men wouldn't know anything until their mates came out holding their child, or not holding as sometimes happened," Dougie tells them.

"Did you have a family, Dougie? I can't believe we never asked. I'm sorry," Donna says, feeling guilty at the lapse in her friendship.

"You have nothing to apologise for, dear Donna. I did not have a family other than my wife. I was the youngest of three sons, and was not required to reproduce like my older two brothers were. That was one of the reasons I left with Rethali, my wife. With one less obligation to stay, it was easier to leave with her and hope that things would improve between us. They did not, but I do not regret my decision," he says with a slightly sad smile. "If I had stayed, I would have died millennia ago, and I would not have met you. While I regret the decisions made by my people, my own decisions have brought me profound joy."

"We love you, too, Dougie," Jack replies, and they all enjoy their tea thinking of the couple in the other room.

* * *

"Rose, the TARDIS mentioned again that a visit to the Rift would be nice."

"Mmmm-hmm," Rose agrees.

Her eyes are closed and her fingers had stilled in his hair a few minutes earlier. She isn't sleeping, but she isn't precisely awake either. Specifically, if asked, she'd been very focused on the musings of their son.

Since Messaline, he's been very aware of the emotional states around him. It's one of the reasons she'd left the Music Room earlier when the Doctor was being an obstinate child. Their son had noticed and was considering kicking up a fuss.

There is no way for him to block against the daily ups and downs of the feelings in those surrounding his mum, so it's up to her…and his stubborn father to shield him from everyone else. And this is a fairly simple task that they had grown used to maintaining, but when those heightened emotions are coming from  _both_  of his parents, it all becomes a little…intense.

Rose didn't want him aware of her observation, so she stayed at the fringes of his awareness. She had been watching him sing to himself in his little mind.  _Sing_  was the best word she could come up with to describe the kaleidoscopic gyrations he would put his thoughts to. Today, it was a riotous dancing of colours, sensations, and feelings that were some of the most beautiful and strange designs she'd ever encountered. He was composing whole symphonies with the only ingredients he had to amuse himself. It was awesome and alien. Following his explorations was absorbing, and it took her a moment to come back to the Library and her husband's comment.

"Soooooo, about visiting the Rift, what do you think we should do about the others?" the Doctor asks carefully.

He isn't exactly sure how to approach the topic. In his opinion, there are two options…be honest or don't be honest. They could tell Jack, Donna, and Dougie what they're doing and where they're going and give them a choice to stay in the TARDIS or be let off on a trip. Or he and Rose could decide what was going to happen and execute it. That latter was much more his style, but that was before Rose was a permanent fixture in his life.

He was pretty sure she would lean toward the former option. Though, she had been less than honest with Jack the last time the TARDIS needed to be charged up. It was this uncertainty that finally made the Doctor voice the question. He was coming to understand that involving Rose in the decision making process  _did_  actually make the final outcome easier. The alternatives were best left uncontemplated.

"Oh, I guess we have to let them know something's up," she comments with a sigh before focusing on his question. "It would be easy enough to let Donna and Jack know that we're going to be near Wilf and Sylvia. I'm sure Donna would like a visit, but we  _are_  Dougie's only family," she says as she works her way through the options. "The only reason we're even having this conversation is Jack; he's the sticky wicket."

"Exactly," the Doctor agrees, glad that she understands the real issue.

"Well, that settles it then," Rose says in a tone of finality.

"Settles what? There wasn't more…did you say more?" he asks, picking his head up from her lap and looking at her quizzically. Checking his time sense, he isn't missing any time, so what did he just miss?

"No, it's just obvious. You take Jack into the bowels of the TARDIS on some maintenance mission and I'll keep Donna busy—maybe we'll go to the Pool. Tell him what the issues are, and ask him what he'd prefer to do," she says matter-of-factly.

"I don't see how any of that was obvious, especially when…" Pausing to take a breath, the Doctor decides to go with her obtuse logic; it's safer that way. "Anyway, why does it have to be me? You're so much better at the feely stuff than I am," he whinges. Pregnant Rose is a bit…unpredictable, it isn't always wise to point that out.

"Doctor, he's been a Time Agent. Jack will understand the options. Donna wouldn't, and I love her, but she wouldn't let it go until she completely understood. This is faster," Rose tells him succinctly. He can tell that she doesn't prefer the manoeuvring, but he has to agree that it will make the entire process more efficient.

"Bah! Fine," he replies resignedly, but in his usually mercurial fashion, he then gets excited by the possibilities. "Oh! I'll take him down to the Heart-tree. The leads to the dimensional storage nodes have been acting a bit strangely since Dougie cleaned out Pandora, and I've been meaning to check on them. I'll take them both! Dougie will  _love_  the Heart-tree." Clapping his hands together, he beams at her in excitement. Rose can see how much he's going to enjoy showing off another part of his beloved ship.

"You could show them the Eye, if you're feeling the need to be really impressive," she teases him.

"Rose Tyler," he admonishes, getting to his feet and holding out a hand to help her up as well. "There's no reason to show away."

"Oi! Like that's ever stopped you."

"Cheeky, cheeky…come 'ere; I'll show ya impressive," he purrs at her, pulling her close.

Sharing a not so casual kiss, they stop when they need to catch their breaths, despite the respiratory bypass. Resting their foreheads together, they enjoy each other a moment. And then they enjoy a moment with their son as he notices their pleasure and reaches out for some of his own. Laughing, they have a shared moment of love before leaving the Library to join their companions in the Kitchen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you so much for reading and following. You're all lovely. I really appreciate the reviews. Getting a little feedback is always nice. :-)
> 
> We're heading toward the next adventure now, but first a stop at the Rift and an uncooperative Future Jack. Monday's Chapter-Confessions.


	9. Confessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Future Jack is uncooperative and the Doctor admits some things.

**9 Confessions**

All the planning and manoeuvring came to nothing. The trip to the Rift in Wales had not one single glimpse of their Future Jack or his team. The Doctor and Rose busied themselves on projects in the TARDIS all night with Darling ready to alert them if Jack was feeling sneaky, but he was so sneaky they never saw him.

Rose decided that it wasn't really fair. The Doctor had talked to their current Jack in the bowels of the TARDIS. Jack had instantly figured out that they'd been to the Rift before, and Rose had apologised for deceiving him at the time. He understood though. It was only his second or third day with her and they were still trying to get the Doctor back; he probably wouldn't have told him either. He did appreciate that they let him know this time, but pointed out that if the TARDIS only needed a few hours, just go while they slept again…easy peasy.

Rose and the Doctor had been working on Future Jack's adapter in their moments of free time for the last several months, and they had a prototype to try out. It was very hard to test without the subject handy, though, so they were anxious to try it out. It was also currently large and cumbersome, but the Doctor assured her that the lump of blinking lights, wires, and spinning bits would be greatly reduced once they knew it worked.

"Ahhh, right. So what else does it do, then? I know you want to show off. Does it pop corn or make fizzy drinks?" Rose asks, arms crossed and an indulgent smile on her lips as she gazes fondly at her mad-scientist husband…complete with sexy brainy specs and sticky-up hair.

"Rose Tyler, you mock my consummate genius," he remonstrates. "Hmmm…fizzy drinks; that's a brilliant idea. I wonder if I super-charged the arcon coil…"

"Oi! I was kidding you daft man. Seriously, it can't be this huge and only produce the waveform I gave you."

"Wellll, it might have a couple of other capabilities…at the moment," he tells her with a sidelong glance.

"So spill. What does it do?" Now she's added toe tapping to the crossed arms. The Doctor is pretty sure that means she's escalating the potential for disapproval, and it's that disapproval that has him prevaricating.

"Alright, you see it has to be this large currently so that I can access the areas that need work later once we fine tune it. And since all that space just seemed to be going to waste…I mean really, look here I could stick my entire foot in there…so with the added space…not that I would put my foot there, no need for feet in the adapter…I gave it the ability to go 'Ding!'…and then I thought…"

"Ding? You made it go…ding? Doctor, the whole point is that it should be unnoticeable. At this rate he's going to look like a Ghostbuster trying to wear that thing."

"Ghostbusters! I love those guys. Egon's my favourite," he says with a daft grin. "But to get back to the point, I made it go 'Ding!' so that I'd would know it's working while we're still testing it. I don't think he could wear it at the moment anyway, more of a table sitter."

The wince that follows the end of this statement is evidence that he knows she doesn't want to hear that. Attempting to forestall the next outburst, he hurries to explain, "Rose, I promise the finished product will be small enough to fit in his hand, probably smaller, but there are too many variables at the moment and I included them in the prototype to capitalise on the small number of tests we can make."

"Alright, I can see the logic in that, but you know we can stop by almost anytime we want," she points out, eyebrow raised.

"Timelines. We're crossing our current time stream as it is. The TARDIS can only give us so many times and places that we aren't likely to cause trouble just by being here. Even fewer when we want to only come at night, when his team is least likely to poking their noses in," he explains while he has both hands buried in the project.

"Why don't we visit in the far past, then? Isn't the Rift a geological feature as well? It was probably here," Rose points out, confused as to why the timeframe they could visit seems so inconvenient.

"Good question, and it was here, geologically and energetically, but it wasn't active yet. In fact, it was quite sealed and dormant," he says hesitantly, giving her that sidelong glance again.

Startled by the realisation, Rose suddenly knows why. "Gwyneth! She opened the Rift, and now it's like an open wound in the fabric of the Universe through time and space, isn't it? It bleeds out energy we can use, but also  _other things_ ," she guesses astutely. "That's why Jack's Torchwood base is here."

"Yes," the Doctor agrees, nodding, but remaining silent about the " _other things_ " that Rose mentioned. He knows what could fall through time and space. It was his fault the Rift was opened in the first place. If he'd listened to Rose…well, he's trying to be better, take that extra second her intuition affords him and use it. After many centuries, foolish arrogance is a hard habit to break, though.

"I bet Jack might have something that would help in his vault. All the Torchwood bases had them in Pete's World; I'm sure it's the same here. He might have parts and pieces falling through the Rift that would be very helpful for the TARDIs or the adapter. We should send him a message," she finishes excitedly.

"And how do you propose we do that? Leave a sticky note on the side of his secret base?" the Doctor asks, rolling his eyes at her.

Smacking him on the shoulder for mocking her, she adopts the full-on Jackie pose, hands on hips and basilisk gaze at the ready. "Remember that part in my memories, where I released all of our Jack's memories for Future Jack, when you were still lost?" Thinking intently a second, he then nods hesitantly at her, so she continues, "You could determine the next time we can visit and tell our current Jack. Future Jack will know, and he can send his team away so we can get in, test the adapter, see what sorts of goodies he might have stashed, and get out no one the wiser." The self-satisfied grin on her face tells him that she's been working on this idea for a while.

"Our own self-completing paradox; I like it. You, Rose Tyler are, brilliant. It's the reason I married you, you know." Leaning in for a kiss, Rose lets him come to her, wrapping his long arms around her middle, disarming the Jackie Tyler Stance of Disapproval.

"Is that right? It wasn't for my fine arse," she says, reaching down and squeezing his. "Or my fabulous hair," she says, moving her hands to his and raking her nails across his skull as she runs her fingers through the soft brown strands. His eyes had gone wide when she grabbed his bum, now they slam shut and a breathy sigh escapes his slightly opened mouth.

Grinning to herself, seeing the effect she has on him, she leans in close blowing over his lips lightly, but not actually touching them yet. "Or perhaps it's the power of my mighty Tyler grin that enticed you to marry me," she whispers against his lips, tapping them with the tip of her tongue. She chuckles low in her throat when he follows her, his eyes still closed as she pulls back a little from the not quite kiss. The small growl of frustration that comes from him is the exact reaction she's been working toward. "But I really think…" she lightly kisses his nose after trailing off.

Opening his eyes and gazing at her with longing and more than just affection, he tightens his grip on her hips, locking her to him and preventing an escape she's not actually planning.

"What do you really think, Rose Tyler?" he says, low and with a rumbled hmm as he slides a hand up her spine to cup the back of her head. He'd said her full name on purpose, knowing she loved the way it sounded coming from him.

"I think…it's because…I was the one…smart enough to ask," she says, enunciating each word and punctuating them with light kisses to his cheeks and chin.

"Minx!" he exclaims. Laughing, she half-heartedly struggles against him, giggling. Tightening his grip on her, he lifts her effortlessly and strides through the open door between his study and their bedroom, his intent perfectly evident.

* * *

A couple of hours later, they are about to prepare for departure from the Rift with still no sign of Future Jack or his Torchwood team.

Lying in bed, Rose is tucked into the Doctor's side, lazily drawing circles in his chest hair, enjoying each other's quiet company—these moments of stillness so rare.

"Rose Tyler, there are as many reasons to marry you as there are stars in the sky," he says quietly out of nowhere, gazing up at the Orion Nebula the TARDIS has chosen for their dome tonight. "I fantasised about us bonding for ages."

"You did not!" she exclaims in a breathy half-laugh, coming up on her elbow so she can see if he's serious.

"I did," is the soft reply accompanied by the relaxed smile that he saves for her. Stuffing an arm behind his head, he props himself up a bit to see her better.

"Since when, then?" she asks, her curiosity getting the better of her. She'd thought about a lot of things where the Doctor was concerned. She'd fantasised a lot, as well, experiencing many lonely and unsatisfying nights with only her charms to abate the frustrating need. But marriage, of any sort had not actually occurred to her until much later, Krop Tor probably.

Humming a moment, thinking, his eyes then slide back to hers. "Since the day your father died." At Rose's gasp, he forestalls her comment so he can explain. "I know that seems ridiculous; we were so new to each other, but seeing how that day affected you and how brave you were for him in the end. It struck me, how amazing and resilient you are, Rose Tyler. I never wanted you to have to go through what your mum did. I thought about being the father to your children that would most likely outlive you and them." The sad smile that accompanies this confession pulls at her hearts.

"I'm sure that thought scared the hell out of you," she responds smiling at him softly so he knows she isn't teasing or judging, just observing.

"Yes, indeed, but most of my thoughts scared the hell out of me at that point. Running hot and cold, I was…mania or anger. You're the one who brought the stability. I would never have managed to get this far without you. I'm not saying that to be defeatist, I just know how I felt. I was too much a coward to kill myself, but I wouldn't have stopped it from happening and I would have chosen to not regenerate if it were possible. That's what you changed, Rose Tyler. When I said you saved this old man's life, I meant literally."

"Oh, Doctor, there's always something worth living for." Twining her hand in his, she allows her energy to completely envelope his, weaving her essence in and around his own, thrumming their marriage bond like a harp string. The shining star of their sleeping son, softly pulsing within the cocoon of energies. Pulling her close, they indulge in this state of perfect intimacy.

* * *

"So, do you have a destination in mind for us today?" Rose asks later as they're getting dressed for the new day and a new adventure.

"Actually, I do. There's a space station out in Andromeda that I've been meaning to visit. Last time I was there I was able to find some Gallifreyan manufactured parts. We'd traded with them until the War made it impossible; but the last time I was there was well before the War." He'd still been sporting a cape the last time he'd visited. It was just after Jo's departure, and he'd needed a little pick-me-up after she decided to remain on Earth.

"Really? Let me guess—was it cape or scarf?" she asks, grinning at him mischievously.

"Well, if you're going to put it that way…cape," he replies, sticking his tongue out at her.

"Ahhh…so dashing. I'm sure you had quite the way with the ladies." Rose knows she's prodding the bear, but he gets so affronted and it's hysterical.

"Of course not!" he scoffs indignantly. "I had absolutely no way with the ladies. There were rules about that sort of thing, not that it even occurred to me, truthfully…at the time…anyway." Looking over at Rose as he's tying his trainers, he can tell that she's winding him up on purpose.

"You're making fun of me, Rose Tyler," he pouts at her.

"Of course, I am. There are rules about this sort of thing," she replies cheekily.

Laughing, he stands and pulls her to him for one last thorough snog before going about the favourite task of annoying the companions awake so they can get the day started.


	10. In the Year 4120

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On a space station in Andromeda, they see some familiar faces.

**10 In the Year 4120**

"Okay then, let's have it; where are we, Spaceman?" Donna asks, gazing wide-eyed around at all the bustling humanoids and more interesting looking aliens. They'd all just exited into a teeming hive of activity. Snug against a wall, the TARDIS is as unobtrusive as possible, and fortunately receives not a single look from the passersby.

"This is the year 4120, and we are on the Space Station Alpha Epsilon orbiting the planet Aristos in the Cleomides system of the Andromeda Galaxy," he tells her with a smug grin at her surprise.

"This is the year 4120?"

"Yup."

"I'm standing on an  _alien space station_ , orbiting an  _alien planet_ , in the year 4120."

"I know, pretty great, yeah?" he says with added glee, enjoying her excitement. "Remember, it was 6012 on Messaline."

"I've done planets," she sniffs dismissively. " _This_  is a space station! Where's a window? This thing has windows, right?" she asks enthusiastically. "I've got to see this. Jack, come on. You've done these before. Show me a window." And taking Jack by the hand, Donna drags him off in the direction of one of the curving walls of the station.

"Are you going to  _let_  them wander off?" Rose asks, looking at the Doctor incredulously.

Another smug grin and he reaches into one of his impossibly deep pockets and pulls out…a phone. "Nah, I made sure they have their phones. Brilliant, I am."

"Aren't you just? Well, Dougie, I guess it's just...us? Dougie?" Looking around, Rose thinks she spots his head above the crowd several meters off.

"Doctor? Is Dougie all right?" It's strange for him to wander off. He's previously been the only companion to never do so—quite the achievement. The Doctor would sometimes (annoyingly) boast about it when any of the rest of them would get more than 30 steps away.

"Dougie? What's wrong with Dougie?"

Rolling her eyes at his obliviousness, Rose grabs his hand and starts weaving her way through the throng to reach Dougie's side.

For his part, Dougie is standing in the middle of the crush of people moving in and out of the docking area, like a rock in turbulent water. Not even realising it, the populace breaks apart to avoid him. Dougie's eyes are closed, and he has both hands pressed to either side of his handsome face. Usually his expression is one of serenity, but at this moment it's pinched. And if Rose was to guess, he's in pain.

"Dougie? What's wrong?" she asks, touching his arm gently to get his attention.

"Rose," he says almost distractedly. "There you are. I…" Looking around himself in confusion, he continues, "I…thought I saw, no heard… Rose, something is wrong here." The sudden intense clarity in his eyes is a little frightening, and the Doctor moves protectively to Rose's side on instinct.

"Dougie, what is it? I'm not sensing anything out of place. It's too busy here at the shuttle bay to check for time disruptions. Let's move away from the terminals," the Doctor says to him slowly and clearly, eyes never leaving his face. "Maybe we should head back to the TARDIS, Rose." Something isn't quite right with their friend and it's making him uneasy.

Taking Dougie's arm the Doctor begins leading him back toward the TARDIS with Rose following close behind, worried for their friend. His confusion, accompanied by an almost manic intensity is so unlike Dougie that Rose immediately shares in the unease she's picking up from her husband.

Reaching out with her mind, Rose sees if she can pick anything up anything in the area that would disturb Dougie. Opening up is a bad idea though, as the station has thousands of people on it. The immediate roar that accompanies the lowering of her mental shields, causes her to stumble a moment before she slams them back into place. Rubbing her temples, she quickens her pace to catch up. She has no idea what he could have possibly picked up amongst all that, but she wasn't going to try again! They knew he was much more sensitive than they were. Hopefully the TARDIS can help.

With the TARDIS in sight, Dougie abruptly halts with a low cry, the Doctor stumbling at the suddenly stop. Dougie, then suddenly snaps erect and gazing around himself, as if he's completely unaware of the past few seconds.

Shaking his head in an attempt to clear his thoughts, Dougie says, "Doctor, Rose! I seem to have been confused for a moment, forgive me."

Reaching up to rub a spot between his eyes, he looks back to them, a bit embarrassed but smiling. "I do not know what came over me. One moment I was taking in all the life surrounding us, and then I thought I heard…" As he tries to recall what exactly he heard, his eyes lose focus again, but only for a second and then he's back. If not for the previous couple of minutes, it wouldn't have seemed odd.

"I do not know exactly what I heard. I apologise if I alarmed you," Dougie says with genuine concern in his eyes.

Stepping in to give him a hug, Rose reassures him that everything's fine. Catching him up on Donna and Jack's exploring, they decide to go ahead and explore the expansive corridors to see what the station has to show them.

Dougie's sensitivity has impressed them before, and he's given them warnings and intuitions that have changed entire potential outcomes on previous adventures—they trust him.

After lunch in the cantina, where they're able to eat while listening to an all non-human band play amusing interpretations of classic Earth music, they make their way through the various shops. The Doctor must visit each and every one of them, muttering about the possibility of TARDIS parts. As there are several hundred little shops; this could take awhile. Rose and Dougie are preemptively exploring the other stands and stores near the one the Doctor is in, hoping to speed up the process.

Rose has just returned to the Doctor's side after failing to find anything in the candy store next door, to find him muttering to her, as if she hadn't left. He can't see her rolling her eyes at him and grinning at how adorable he is when he's all distracted.

"You never know, Rose, where the next likely gem will come from. Could be anything, anywhere. I'm trying to remember the shop I located the last time I was here. Why, one time I found…"

Seeing Dougie go by the doorway quickly and intent on something, she moves to the hallway to see what grabbed his interest.

"Doctor!"

Freezing at the urgency in Rose's tone, the Doctor hurriedly makes his way to her. She's wide-eyed with a little fear tinging their link and looking past a stiff and silent Dougie as she motions for him to hurry up.

Reaching her side, she leans in to whisper urgently in his ear, "Doctor, there are Ood here!"

Ood. Oh dear. It hadn't occurred to him about the Ood. Of course there are Ood here. He's in the right place at the right time—42nd Century and dead smack in the middle of the Tri-Galactic Empire.

Still feeling a bit guilty about the Ood he'd had to leave on Krop Tor, he looks over Rose's shoulder to see that there's a human salesman putting his charges through their…"paces."

Having the poor Ood behave like trained dogs bothers the Doctor, but they aren't his affair. They seem to come to this way willingly and he tries not to judge. A look of distaste mars his expression, though, before he turns back to Rose to reassure her that these Ood won't be anything like the ones they'd met the last time.

Dougie, on the other hand, is rigid, his gaze locked on the 15 or 20 Ood that are standing by waiting to be purchased for…"50 Credits…They're a bargain!"

"It's alright, Rose. The Beast is gone," The Doctor tells Rose, pulling her close. "He can't control these Ood. On their own they're generally harmless…"

The words barely leave his mouth before five of the waiting Ood turn as one to face Dougie with glowing red eyes and chant, "The Circle. It must be broken."

Just as their keeper whips around to see what's going on, they've already resumed their places and their previously meek and blinking gazes, no longer looking at Dougie.

"You just had to open your mouth," Rose huffs at the Doctor, who is opening and closing this same mouth in a lovely fish impression, his mind spinning at what just happened before it snaps shut, his lips pressed into a flat unhappy line.

Stepping to Dougie's side, Rose finds him with his eyes pressed tightly shut and trembling slightly.

"Dougie? Are you okay?" she asks, reaching out to lay a reassuring hand to his arm. At the contact this time, he reacts sharply, flinching away from her.

"Don't touch me!" he cries, taking a couple of faltering steps sideways. Clutching his skull, he moans low in his throat. "Rose. Did you hear it? The pain…they're suffering." Leaning against a bulkhead, Dougie moans again, still holding his head.

Startled, Rose looks over at the Doctor, to see he's mirroring her expression.

_-What the hell is going on, Doctor?-_

_-I don't have a clue-_

_-Did you hear anything? I didn't-_

_-No, and I've never seen Dougie react violently…well, about anything…even Daleks!-_

_-I know! I'm worried, Doctor.-_

_-Me, too, Rose, but let's try to give him some space. The Ood_ **_are_ ** _telepathic. Maybe they function at a frequency more like his own, and he is more susceptible to them, to what ever made them react that way-_

_-Right…and tell me how that's a good thing? Something is talking **to**  Dougie  **through**  the Ood-just like on Krop Tor!-_

_-Ahhh, Right. Now that I said that, I think we need to get back to the TARDIS…ASAP. She'll block anything from trying to get to him. Call Jack and have them meet us there. Tell them it's Dougie and it's urgent. I'll keep an eye on him-_

_-Okay-_

Pulling out her superphone, Rose moves a little way off to have the conversation where Dougie won't hear her. It only takes a minute to convey to Jack what's happening and he assures her they'll meet them back at the TARDIS. Hanging up, she turns back…and they're gone. Looking around, she sees the Doctor and Dougie—moving closer to the Ood.

"Doctor!"

* * *

Dougie is fixated on the Ood. Slowly, he begins moving through the people toward them. He shrugs off the hands of someone trying to stop him. All he can hear is the singing—the low, powerful, sad, and suffering Song coming from the Ood. Swatting away the annoying thing that is bothering him, he makes his way to the front of the crowd watching the sales pitch, and comes to a stop—waiting.

* * *

Twice the Doctor is unable to keep Dougie from advancing. He's much stronger than the Doctor realised. That could be problematic, especially if it had been Rose he'd just tossed aside. Bushing his trousers off, Rose reaches him looking scared and confused.

"Jack and Donna are on their way to meet us at the TARDIS. How are we going to get Dougie there? He just tossed you like a rag doll."

"So I noticed, thank you. I have a few ideas that will be effective, but I'm not looking forward to using them in public."

"Well, I hope your Jedi tricks work, because I have a feeling this is about to get weirder. Look!"

Reaching the front of the press near to Dougie, Rose and the Doctor see the Ood begin to turn away from the spokesman and face their friend. The ones that turn all have glowing red eyes. They haven't moved yet or said a word, but they are watching.

The crowd, sensing that something isn't right, starts to break up; people leaving in ones and twos. All of them are looking over their shoulders as they flee, uncertain as to why they felt they needed to be elsewhere, but all determined to put distance between themselves and that corridor.

Furious, the man who had been working the crowd turns to see what has everyone on edge. Seeing the eyes of his Ood, he pulls out a radio and yells into it something about red-eye and another entire batch.

Rose doesn't know what he means, but she feels the tension in the room ratchet up another notch. She doesn't know what's going on, but the current of unease is affecting everyone around them.

Nearly screaming at the light touch on her shoulder, she whips around to see Jack by her side, looking serious.

"Sorry, Rosie, I used my vortex manipulator to pop me close. I figure if we can grab Dougie, I can land us in front of the TARDIS—Donna's waiting by the doors. So what's going on? I have a really bad feeling."

"Something is trying to communicate through the Ood," the Doctor says, still watching. "They seem to be targeting Dougie, but so far…"

All twenty Ood now focus on Dougie, who has stepped forward, holding himself rigid but visibly trembling. The company man is still rattling away into his radio, beginning to look panicky. As one, the red-eyed Ood raise their hands to chest height, and say in unison, "The Circle must be broken. The Circle must be broken, so we can Sing."

As they begin to speak, Dougie falls to his knees with a low cry, weaving back and forth, his arms wrapped around his head. From the hallways around them, the Doctor, Jack, and Rose hear the running of many booted feet heading their direction.

"Damn! I hate it when I'm right. Rosie, get back; boots mean guns," Jack says, pulling out a blaster and moving to Dougie's side careful not to touch him yet.

The Doctor immediately moves between the Ood and Dougie.

"Circle, right…we need to break it. That sounds like a good plan," the Doctor says reasonably, quickly trying to get their attention. "Let's go do that then. Where's the Circle and we'll all just go nice and quietly before the humans get here with the big guns. Jack, dammit, put the gun away!"

"Too late, Doctor," Rose calls. Looking over his shoulder, he sees Rose backing toward him and Jack, arms raised.

Moving again, to put himself between the crowd of men in black carrying  _really_  big guns and everyone else, the Doctor isn't pleased with the limited options available. He doesn't get two steps before there's an incoherent yowling behind him.

Whipping around, he sees Dougie struggling against Jack, who's managed put him in a choke hold. Dougie is trying to stand and shake Jack off his back. His head bowed and he's growling like a mad bull. Rose is hovering nearby, but she can't think of how to help.

Looking up suddenly, Dougie's eyes are also glowing blood red. " **THE CIRCLE MUST BE BROKEN** ," he screams, spittle flying, and trying to reach behind himself for Jack. Seeing Rose, Dougie takes two enraged steps in her direction— _that_  gets the Doctor moving.

Hearing the cocking of weapons behind them and knowing he has only seconds to save his family, he knows there isn't time for the techniques he'd mentioned earlier. Running directly to Dougie, the Doctor punches him twice, as hard as he can—once to the temple and once to the sternum. Like felling a tree, Dougie is instantly unconscious, dropping to the floor. Grabbing Rose and tucking her close, the Doctor sits on Dougie and wraps an arm around Jack. Rose wraps her other arm around him as Jack slams his hand to the Vortex manipulator, triggering the sequence as the first bullets begin flying, cutting the now docile Ood down where they stand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We begin the Ood arc! I know the Whoniverse labels them as monsters, but I've always really liked the Ood. I think they're more victims of circumstances, and no more monsters than any human that can go mental. There are seven more chapters in this arc of the story before we move to an original adventure. I'm still writing away, and Ash is beta'ing as fast as she can.
> 
> Friday's chapter is: It's Only a Wee Scratch
> 
> Thanks so much for the follows and reviews. I'm glad you're enjoying it as much as I am writing it. Cheers!


	11. It's Only a Wee Flesh Wound

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone makes it back the TARDIS.

**11 It's Only a Wee Flesh Wound**

 

Seeing her friends appear in a flash of blue and very uncomfortable heap in front of the TARDIS, has Donna scrambling to see who's hurt and who isn't.

"Oh…mmmmnnnn…I'm gonna…" Scrambling to her knees, Rose scoots away to be sick. Traveling via Vortex Manipulator while pregnant will  ** _NEVER_**  happen again. Their son is voicing his own displeasure as well by raising a ruckus that nearly makes her sick again.

"Donna, we're good; help Rose," the Doctor tells Donna urgently. He hadn't had time to worry about Rose traveling that way while pregnant, and her obvious distress is being broadcast rather loudly.

"Jack, let's get Dougie into the TARDIS and to the Zero room. You get his feet." Sparing a glance to Rose, he sees that she seems to be okay, leaning on Donna and nodding.

Lifting the comatose Tanu is more of a chore than he would have thought. At 2.5 meters, Dougie moves lightly on his feet, but unconscious, he's more than a little difficult.

Helpfully, noticing their troubles, the TARDIS manifests a null-grav stretcher just within Her doors. Relieved, the Doctor and Jack both thank Her silently as they gruntingly get Dougie loaded on the floating cot.

"Jack, do you…"

"Go. I can get this myself, now. Rose needs you," Jack says, nodding toward the doors as he begins pushing Dougie into the interior of the ship.

Rushing back outside, Rose is just trying to stand as the Doctor reaches her.

"Here, I'll help. Rose, I'm so sorry; there just wasn't time." His worry for her has him feeling guilty and edgy all at once.

"S'ok…" she slurs, a little dizzy as she stands. "Couldn't be helped, but the baby is pissed about…Doctor! There's blood on your coat!" she cries out, looking at the red on her hand; she'd felt the sticky wetness when he slid his arm beneath her shoulders.

Now that she's pointed it out, he does feel a sting across his right shoulder. Testing it, the shoulder moves well though the discomfort increases.

"I'm alright love, must just be a scratch. See? Everything works fine." Wiggling his fingers at her to prove his point. No smile replaces the worry, though—Rose has had too much bright red blood on her hands recently. "Maybe Dougie caught me in the struggle," he says breezily, trying to distract her from her worry for him as well.

He's much more concerned for her and the baby. Thankfully they'd only traveled spatially. He doesn't even want to contemplate what might have happened if they'd needed to move through the Vortex with nothing but the Manipulator. The TARDIS is shielded against the Vortex; specifically designed to protect Her inhabitants from the radiation, temporal fluctuations, and other hazards presented by the unique conditions inherent in time travel. Exerting an extreme amount of control to keep from shuddering at the thought, he continues helping Rose toward the TARDIS. A small army of cleaning bots has already descended on the mess in the hall, and scurry in all directions as they finish.

Entering the TARDIS has a profound effect on Rose, as Darling begins singing to the child, and he calms almost instantly.

 _/God! Darling, thank you so much!/_  Rose sends Her, relieved to have one less discomfort at the moment.

 ** _~Do not worry my Wolf. The little Thief is well. He was just scared~_**  She reassures Rose.

Pushing another wave of nausea down as Donna and the Doctor help her to the Infirmary, Rose tries to send some gratitude to the TARDIS. Instead, she finds herself the recipient of a bolstering wave of strength from the Ship. Feeling much better, Rose is able to help herself up on the exam bed so the Doctor can get a good look at her.

Pulling over the scanner, he flips it on as he directs Donna to certain cupboards or drawers for items, including some anti-emetics and some gauze pads to clean the graze on his shoulder.

With a soft ' _ding_ ' that pulls a small smile to Rose's lips, the scan is done.

"Everything looks fine, Rose. No issues at all; well, except that I need to add a little more iron to your daily vitamin." Smiling at her over the screen, he turns his attention back to the scanner. "He's perfect, not a scratch on either of you," he tells her, reaching out to squeeze her hand.

"That was way too close, Doctor." Another second or two could have led to much greater injury. The thought makes her shiver in dread.

Sensing her thoughts as well as hearing her words, he opens his mouth to begin a "Nah, that wasn't so bad" ramble, but closes it against the innocuous words. She's right, and there's so much more at stake now. Their near loss on Messaline brought a certain clarity about their way of life that they haven't actually addressed yet.

Nodding instead, he replies, " Yes, but we made it. I can't say the same for the Ood. I seem to keep letting the poor blighters down," he muses unhappily.

"What's an Ood?" Donna asks as she lays out the clean gauze and antiseptic pads to clean the Doctor's shoulder. "Your turn, Sunshine. Jacket and shirt off."

"Donna, I think I can…"

Interrupting his statement with her own, Donna says, "Pay attention and let someone else help you for once? I thought so too, now shift." The flat look in her eyes and the concern she can't help but project, clicks his teeth shut on the rude comment he was about to make, and grudgingly he starts peeling out of his ruined suit jacket, shirt, and vest.

Once exposed, Donna can see that the wound is definitely a graze, it's only the first few layers of skin that've been singed off and the bleeding has already stopped, but it's still some 15 cm long. Soaking a pad in the antiseptic, Donna begins gently cleaning the wound. The Doctor's sharp intake is a testament that it does indeed still hurt.

"Might sting a bit. So distraction…tell me, what's an Ood?"

Through gritted teeth, he begins to explain the Ood as Jack comes through the door, nodding to the Doctor, letting him know he got Dougie situated. Looking over to Rose, she smiles and gives him a little wave that she's fine while the Doctor continues relaying what little he knows about the Ood.

"Generally humanoid, pale; look a bit like they're chewing squids, and they speak through a lit translation globe. They're usually extremely docile. I don't know where their home world is, but at some point in the 39th Century you lot discovered them and began parceling them out around the Tri-Galactic Empire as servants. The Ood seem to  _need_  to serve, and they rarely cause any problems. I have seen them peripherally many times, but never interacted with them. I find their willful slavery distasteful, and I'm ashamed to say I had written them off years ago," he confesses looking uncomfortable with his own sentiments.

"Rose and I experienced them up close and personal on an impossible planet called Krop Tor, but they were being controlled by a malignant force. That was the first time I ever saw the 'red-eye.' They are very receptive to telepathy—scarily receptive. And I think these were being controlled as well. And whatever it is, it's powerful enough to effect Dougie, which adds a whole extra suitcase of very not good," he finishes.

"Do you want the dermal regenerator, Doc?" Jack asks, holding up the instrument.

Looking over the wound on his shoulder, he shrugs once. "Nah. It's shallow enough. It'll be mostly gone in 24 hours." Gingerly pulling his vest back on, he leaves the shirt and jacket off, as he hops down.

"What do you think the entity meant by the circle needing to be broken? And Dougie said something about them suffering; he said he could hear them," Rose states, remembering Dougie's distress. "Do you think that maybe they aren't entirely so willing? If they're calling for help, we can't keep ignoring them, Doctor."

"And what the hell is willful slavery? Who would wake up one day and say, 'Oh hey, control my entire life…please and thank you!?'" Donna asks, looking defiantly confused. "You heard of 'em, Jack?"

"Heard of the Ood? Yes, but they weren't kept anymore by my time. I've never really paid attention to them. More important fish in the sea, I guess," he says with a shrug.

"Well, I don't like it. I want to find out how voluntary it really is; if the Ood really have a say in it. Can the TARDIS figure out where the signal or whatever was coming from? Maybe we could follow it," she says stubbornly.

"I agree with Donna," Rose says from the exam bed with determination. "Something isn't right, and Dougie's the only one that seems to have noticed. We're going to start caring enough to find out what's going on. Maybe we can tap into the Station's systems to see if any of the instruments picked up a signal," she suggests, trying to think of things to try.

"We do not have to do any of that, my friends. I know where we need to go," Dougie says entering the Infirmary slowly and in obvious discomfort.

"Dougie!" all four of them say at once, causing him to wince and bring a hand to his temple as he leans against the doorframe. The Doctor and Jack tense up, but Dougie raises his other hand in a placating gesture as he steps further into the Infirmary.

"I can't believe the TARDIS let you out of the Zero Room," the Doctor says with a look of consternation. Mentally he receives a wave of concern for Dougie from Her—obviously there is more going on here than he had thought.

"I have much to atone for, nearly attacking my hosts would qualify as a mortal offence amongst my people. The TARDIS understands my need to see you," he states sadly.

"Dougie, don't be daft! You were possessed or something by an entity that is horrendously powerful. You aren't to blame for that. And you didn't hurt anyone. We are much more concerned for you at the moment," Rose says, her face set and determined. Looking at Jack and the Doctor, she dares them silently to disagree with her—neither does. They nod in agreement at her words.

"Whatever it was can't get you in here, Dougie. The TARDIS can keep out any telepathic entities that might be trying to get in," the Doctor tells him, striding forward and gripping his forearm, smiling. "Are you injured? I got a little singed, but nothing worth mentioning." Rose and Donna both roll their eyes at the fact that he did anyway.

"I feel like I have had a planet stuffed in my head and then abruptly removed; but other than sore, I believe I am more or less physically well, thank you, Doctor. I am very sorry for my earlier behaviour," he says this last quietly, so only the Doctor can hear.

"I know. What's done is past. We're all safe, that's the most important thing," the Doctor replies, just as quietly. In a normal tone, he continues, "Besides, I'd miss you. Who else can reach all those recessed areas for me, or pass me spanners when I'm in compromising positions?" the Doctor tells him, pleased with the smile he pulls from his rueful patient. "Hop up here, and we'll see what's going on. I did hit you twice pretty hard. I want to make sure I didn't damage anything."

Starting the scanner again, the Doctor helps Rose down from her perch, giving Jack a significant look. Feeling much better, Rose opts to shower and get cleaned up. Then it's the Kitchen, because now she's ravenous. Patting Dougie's arm on her way by, she smiles at him and hopes he feels better. Returning her smile, he nods at her as the machine makes its way up his body toward his head.

Understanding the Doctor's need to question Dougie alone, Jack suggests he and Donna start cooking so Rose doesn't have to. Agreeing with the logic of that and pleased to do more, Donna waves at Dougie on her way by, discussing the merits of stir-fry versus pasta for supper. Jack gives him an understanding and lopsided smile as he leaves, but is focused on Donna's questions.

As the scanner nears its completed cycle, the Doctor bustles around the bed, pulling out various phials based on the preliminary results.

"Look at that, your people are allergic to aspirin as well. Good thing I stay stocked up on alternatives," he says easily, filling a syringe with a painkiller specifically designed for overworked telepaths. He is unfortunately very familiar with this particular drug, but it is exceptionally effective, and he'll get about 5 minutes of questioning before Dougie falls asleep for an hour or so.

"This will help a great deal, but it'll make you drowsy. You'll probably sleep for about an hour, then you can join us in the Kitchen. First, though, I have a few questions." Injecting the serum into Dougie's arm, he returns to the other side to see the results of the brain portion of the scan, now that it's complete.

"Oi, you weren't kidding! All the pathways and junctures between telepathic organs are inflamed. I have no idea how you even walked here, let alone are able to communicate. I'm surprised you're even awake," the Doctor says, astounded at Dougie's tenacity.

"I awoke and knew I had to see you immediately and apologise to Rose, to you. I could not…"

"I understand, but rest now. I only have a couple of questions and then you can sleep as long as you like." Nodding his understanding, Dougie keeps his eyes locked to the Doctor's, fighting for focus, already feeling the medication creep up his extremities. But he has to make sure the Doctor understands what happened before he can let go.

"Doctor, I couldn't stop it. I felt it trying to call to the Ood; I felt their distress—all I wanted to do was help, but it is so huge. Doctor, there is so much sorrow," Dougie tells him miserably, shuddering at the memory. Sobbing in a quick breath, he continues, "Not even the Firvulag could so overwhelm one's mind. I could have hurt you, or Rose, or the baby! I couldn't keep it out, and now my mind feels like it is on fire." His obvious distress starts the scanner beeping in alarm.

"Dougie, everything's okay. We all made it," the Doctor says, trying to soothe him. The medication is definitely beginning to work despite Dougie's unhappiness, as the beeping stops and the readings continue to slow.

"Just one question and then you can rest. We'll figure everything out later when you're feeling better." At a nod from Dougie, the Doctor asks him, "You said you knew where we need to go. Did the entity leave information in your mind? You can nod again, if that's easier," the Doctor tells him gently.

"Yes, planetary coordinates; I can draw them for you later. It is their home world, I believe," he says slowly.

"The Ood's home world?"

"Yes. There is something that was buried. The humans have/are hurting it. I'm sorry, I received too much information and only pieces remain. Perhaps more will come when I have rested," he responds shakily, eyes closing of their own accord.

"That's great, Dougie, more than I expected for now. I'll check in later." Glancing at the monitor, he can see that Dougie is already asleep, tears still slowly tracking his cheeks.

Carefully inserting an IV, the Doctor sets up an electrolyte drip, specifically designed to stimulate his brain to heal. The inflammation isn't severe, but it's extensive enough to cause psychic storms if not treated immediately. Adding a mild sedative, the Doctor feels a little guilty about telling Dougie he'd be up in an hour. It will be more like a couple of days, unless he happens to heal as fast as a Gallifreyan.

Speaking of...when he turns back to Dougie with the dermal regenerator in hand, Romana is by the bedside looking sadly down at Dougie and surprising the Doctor.

"Will he be alright, Doctor?" She asks. Not receiving an immediate answer, she looks up at the Doctor, who realises he's staring at her and covers his bad manners with a cough, stepping to Dougie's other side.

"There doesn't appear to be any permanent physical damage," he tells her as he fiddles with the device. Nodding at his reply, she remains by Dougie's side, but has no further questions for the Doctor. This only serves to pique his interest.

Using the dermal regenerator on the bruising he'd caused to Dougie's sternum and temple, the Doctor worries what else the entity may have left behind. He's fought unfriendly entities and Time Lords out of his mind in the past, and it's never a pleasant experience or one you're likely to forget anytime soon. That sort of violation can permanently damage a person's psyche. Romana would know all about that, from her much more personal experiences with Pandora in the past. They'll have to see how Dougie's feeling when he finally wakes up, and not let him turn away from them emotionally.

This thought causes the Doctor to pause as a whole series of memories race through his mind--times where he's done just that in his own attempt to cope. Except in  _his_  case, he usually runs away physically, as well. And here he is, thinking about giving psychological therapy to Dougie--hypocrite. Snorting to himself, he continues prepping Dougie for his stay in the Infirmary. Romana will probably be good for him when he wakes up.

"I've sedated him. It'll likely be a couple of days before he's up and around...Romana?" She glances up toward the Doctor, and her expression is an odd mix of concern, frustration, and tenderness.

"Thank you, Doctor," Romana says quietly, turning back to Dougie. The Doctor senses that she would hold his hand if she were able. He can also tell he isn't going to get anything else from her. His curiosity will have to wait.

He knew that Romana and Dougie had struck up quite a friendship, but he hadn't realised how much Romana cared about Dougie. It would be frustrating to be so limited as a hologram in an instance like this. If it were Rose lying there, and he the hologram...with a shudder he pushes the thought away. Leaving Romana to her thoughts, he replaces pieces of equipment to their places, preparing to leave.

Finishing up by setting a couple more alerts on the monitor, the Doctor heads slowly out of the Infirmary and toward the Kitchen, deep in thought.

"Looks like we'll be heading for the Ood home world once Dougie recovers," he tells the group as he enters, taking his seat next to Rose.

"Will he be okay?" Donna asks.

"Yes, but he has a kind of brain fever, and I'm going to keep him sedated for a couple of days so he can recover and the inflammation can go down. There's no sign of permanent damage," he tells her, smiling at the relieved exhalation as she leans into Jack's side.

"How does Dougie know where their home world is?" Jack asks, looking thoughtful.

"Apparently whatever took over left him with the coordinates. He said some other confusing things, but I'm hoping more information will survive the inflammation and we'll know once he wakes up," the Doctor replies with a sigh, scrubbing his face.

"So what did you decide on?" he asks, changing the subject and looking for a little normalcy. "I'm starving!"

Wrapping his good arm around Rose and kissing the top of her head, the Doctor grabs a plate as Jack begins serving out the stir fried pasta dish he and Donna invented because they couldn't decide. Relieved at surviving another day, they all tuck into their supper, worrying about Dougie, but feeling all around grateful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading. Monday's chapter is...The Ood Sphere. Please review if you're enjoying the story. Many thanks to all who have read, favorited, and reviewed, so far. Ya'll Rock! :-)


	12. The Ood Sphere

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reaching the Ood Sphere, the TARDIS gang splits up to try and determine what is happening with the Ood.

**12 Ood Sphere**

 

"You're sure these are the Coordinates you remember, Dougie?" The Doctor asks, concentrating on the monitor in front of him, occasionally typing.

"Yes, Doctor, I am positive. The TARDIS is showing them on the screen in exactly the same configuration that they hold in my mind. Does it not exist?" Dougie is worried that he somehow failed the entity that needs him.

"No, no," the Doctor says hurriedly. "It's a moon orbiting a planet in a solar system I'm familiar with, is all. Seems a bit strange that it would be so close to the Sense Sphere, and I didn't know about it. Wellll, I say that now. It has been centuries since I was anywhere near this location. I was a bit wet behind the ears, shall we say, and it wasn't a particularly fun adventure as I recall." The Doctor's posture changes a bit as he thinks about it, leaning back on his heels and grasping the lapels of his suit coat in both hands.

"What happened?" Donna asks him, not noticing the differences that scream the First Doctor to Rose, but then she's the only one who's seen him in that incarnation. She smirks to herself, envisioning her Doctor as his first self as she scans through his memories of that escapade.

"Well, the Sense Sphere is populated by Sensorites, who are a very secretive species. The planet has a permanent quarantine now; thanks to me. They are disinterested in any visitors. When I dropped by, they were very worried about Humans exploiting their resources, and with good reason. I did the usual; lots of running, diffusing trouble, dismantling weapons, and generally saving the day. Goodness, but that was a long time ago," he muses, thinking back on Susan, Ian, and Barbara.

"Anyway, they're a telepathic species as well, so maybe there's something about the two suns or the chemical make of the local atmospheres that encourages telepathy to evolve," the Doctor tells them, looking thoughtful. "Hmmmm, I never have a sample when I'm curious about something," he mumbles to himself, before focusing again on Dougie.

"And Dougie, how certain are you that the entity can't take over again? I would rather keep you safe on the TARDIS, than have you go berserk and end up causing unintentional havoc." The expression on the Doctor's face is intense and Dougie knows that, if necessary, the Doctor will restrain him.

"I am completely confident, Doctor. Once you woke me, I was able to follow the entity's path and set up a block to its mental signature. I should still be able to hear the Ood, especially if they are calling out, but the entity that worries us will only be able to communicate with me. There is no possibility of non-consensual control," he says confidently.

"And as I said before, I think it is the vastness of its consciousness that lends the appearance of control. I am not certain that it is actually bent on taking over the minds it attempts to inhabit rather than clumsily trying to communicate, but I will need more information to prove or disprove this theory."

Staring at Dougie for a minute more gauging the situation, the Doctor nods and gives his consent for Dougie to join them.

He'd been surprised and gratified at how practically Dougie had dealt with the psychic violation. Confidently defending the entity throughout their discussions for the past two days, Dougie was determined that there was no malicious intent behind the takeover. Having to bow to Dougie's more expert knowledge was not the Doctor's favourite course, but he saw no reason not to trust his friend. Every scan came up clean, and the TARDIS assured him that the entity did not enter with Dougie.

"Right, well your coordinates are extremely specific, containing time data as well, so we're landing on the 19th of April, 4126. Not sure why that time exactly, but I guess we'll find out," he says with a flourish, throwing the final lever. "Ready…for…some…adventure?"

The ride is decidedly shaky. Rose is positive that tying her to the jump seat like the infant she's carrying, is actually some form of torture, and the Doctor has been tricked into thinking it's for her benefit. Internally elucidating further on how awful the experience is comes abruptly to a halt as the TARDIS lands with a final rattle and a blinking of the lights in apology.

"No worries, Ol' girl, this star system's pretty complicated. I'm sure it adds turbulence to the time winds," the Doctor tells Her, patting a strut.

Bouncing down the ramp to the door, he holds his hand out for Rose, waiting more or less patiently. As she takes it, he pushes the doors open grandly and sweeps out into the sunny and bright…snow covered, bitterly cold landscape.

"Oi! I thought you said it was April! Blasted,  _aliens_! I'll be right back," Donna announces as she turns on her heel and marches back into the TARDIS.

Jack, much like the Doctor, wears his long coat like armour and is already suitably clad beneath it. Donna won't admit it now, but he'd pointed out earlier that the TARDIS only lays out the clothes when the needs of the climate are specific. She had ignored the TARDIS' suggestions that morning.

Dougie, like Rose and the Doctor, appears to be able to regulate his body's ability to process external climate changes and is wearing a variation of his usual pale-coloured robes over loose trousers.

Hearing the stomping footsteps of a more appropriately dressed Donna ring out on the grating, they turn to see her exit in a warm fluffy parka. Jack moves to her side, but she holds up a single finger, saying, "Not a word, Harkness." Grinning he closes the TARDIS' door, and stuffing his hands in his pockets, follows Donna to where she's joining the others.

"Rose Tyler! How long has it been sense we saw  _real_  snow?" the Doctor says nostalgically.

"Umm, the day we picked up Donna?" Rose replies, smiling at his antics as he throws himself down bodily and starts waving his arms about, making snow angels. Hopping back up, he grins down at his artwork, particularly pleased with himself.

"Well, sure, but not perfect snow…not snow like this. I made a snow angel! Much nicer than weeping angels, let me tell you. They…"

Interrupted by an odd rumble and tearing sound above them, they all look up as a large space ship flies by overhead, executing a decelerating turn as it heads towards its landing on the other side of the nearest ridge line.

"Wow! Now that's a  _real_  spaceship!" Donna exclaims appreciatively, eyes glued to its progress across the sky.

"What do you mean 'real' spaceship, Donna Noble? The TARDIS is way better than any old  _space…_ ship," the Doctor responds, indignant at Donna's implied insult.

"Doctor, he's got a Space Ferrari, you've…got a box. Just sayin'. A bloody magnificent box, but still."

Rose takes the Doctor's hand and begins pulling him along the plateau they're on, smirking at their banter. The settlement must be in the direction the ship took, and she doesn't fancy spending the night out in the snow field.

"I bet it can't travel in time," he grumbles, allowing Rose to pull him along, but still offended for his ship. Squeezing his had in agreement and trying to hide her grin, Rose turns to Dougie.

"Can you hear anything now that we're here, Dougie?" Rose asks him as they walk along.

"Only the faintest stirrings of melody with no words at all, though…"

As one, the Doctor, Rose, and Dougie turn their heads and begin walking purposefully in a slightly different direction. Donna and Jack grin at their synchronous behaviour, assuming they must have picked something up telepathically, and follow a few paces behind.

"Did you hear that?" Rose asks, knowing they did, since they're all moving together.

"I think 'hear' isn't quite the right word, but yes, I 'heard' something. What did it sound like to you?" the Doctor asks her.

"Like the cry of a small child. You?"

"Similar, but to me it sounded like a woman crying out."

"Strange…so something about the call picks out what you'll care about most and uses it to relay its distress," Rose muses out loud.

"Dougie, did you hear anything different, just then?" Rose asks him.

"A miserable cry of loneliness and pain," he replies sadly, scanning for what had called for them.

"Over there!" the Doctor cries, seeing a lump in the snow ahead of them that doesn't look like a rock.

Running forward, Dougie drops to his knees beside the head of what they can now see is a fallen Ood, slowly being covered in snow.

"Oh, Doctor, is he…" Trailing off, Rose's question is answered by the Ood opening his eyes.

"What…what  _is_  that?" Donna asks, looking back to Jack as they catch up to the others.

"He's one of the Ood," Rose replies distractedly, wondering how it got here.

"But it's face. The Doctor wasn't kidding about the…" she trails off, wriggling her fingers in the air in front of her face, mimicking the Ood's tentacles. This isn't her first strange looking alien, but it is one of the weirdest.

"Not now, Donna! The Ood's a  _he_ , not an  _it_ ," Rose blurts out, offended for the poor Ood. But seeing Donna's face, she apologises. "Donna, I'm sorry. I forgot you hadn't seen one before."

Nodding, Donna drops to the Ood's side, taking his hand in hers. The overall look of the Ood had startled her, but seeing him lying there, presumably dying as the snow lightly drifted down, pulls at her heart. Looking into his eyes with compassion she squeezes his icy hand.

"Dougie, can you pick anything up from him? Donna, see if you can't get the Ood talking," the Doctor orders absently.

Pulling a stethoscope from his pocket, the Doctor attempts to find the Ood's heart or whatever might function as a circulatory system in their species. Other than some disturbing gurgles, he discovers nothing conclusive, but he does find a bullet wound in the Ood's lower abdomen.

"Hello there. We're here to help you. Do you have a name?" Donna asks the Ood kindly.

"I am designated, Delta 51," the Ood replies through his translation globe. Thinking she needs to use it to speak to him as well, Donna picks it up; but Dougie takes it gently from her, shaking his head though smiling at her confusion.

"He only requires it to speak to you, Donna, not the reverse," Dougie explains, pillowing the Ood's head in his lap.

Rose and Jack are a little apart from the group, watching. There are enough hands already. Being this close now, Rose can hear the Ood's song and knows it's fading. He'll be dead soon.

"Well, I'm Donna and this is the Doctor; just what you need, a Doctor. And this one here, is Dougie; he can hear your song," Donna continues talking to the dying Ood, not realising that he only has moments left.

"The circle…" the Ood begins.

"No, no, it's okay. Don't try to…"

"The circle must be broken," the Ood says again, interrupting her.

"What circle, and broken how? Can you tell us how to help you?" The Doctor asks urgently, feeling the Ood slipping away.

At this point the Ood has closed his eyes and is rocking back and forth in pain, suddenly stilling, his eyes flash open and they're blood red. A cry escapes from Donna, and the Doctor is instantly pulling her up with him away from the Ood who is growling incoherently trying to get up. But Dougie has him restrained, hands on either side of his skull, his own eyes tightly shut. In another second the Ood is dead, going completely limp between Dougie's hands.

"He has passed into the Universe," Dougie says, closing the dead Ood's eyes. "I sang to his mind, Doctor. It was the only thing I could think to do."

Going to Dougie, Rose kneels down in the snow to wrap her arms around him, sensing his grief. Jack moves to help Donna up as the Doctor assists Rose. Dougie settling the Ood back into the snow before rising to his feet.

"Should we do something for the Ood?" Donna asks, looking sadly down at him.

"The snow will take care of its own, Donna," Dougie tells her gently, giving her a small smile in appreciation, which she returns.

"Doctor, I felt the entity when it possessed Ood Delta 51. I can sense it now. It is beyond that ridge," he says pointing. Then turning to face the Doctor fully, his face long with sorrow, he says, "It is in great pain, and has been for some time."

"Well, we need to get to whatever facility they have here, and find out what's going on. That Ood was shot. He was left to bleed to death in the snow, and I doubt that either of those things was by accident. We'll figure this out, Dougie; I promise you that."

Dougie nods in understanding, and the Doctor claps him on the arm before turning for Rose's hand to help her over a rock. Striding out, they meander their way through the narrow and hazardous landscape toward the ridge Dougie pointed out, looking for a way around it.

* * *

Rounding a break in the rocks, the group spots an enormous facility of buildings with an adjoining spaceport. It's quite busy today with ships of many varieties coming in to land.

"This joint is hoppin', Doc!" Jack says, cataloguing the many  _very_  expensive personal space yachts that are lined up on the tarmac.

"Looks like there's some sort of sales presentation or show about to start. I'll bet they tour the facility and are about to wine and dine the new potential investors," the Doctor speculates.

"Sounds a bit like something we should in- _vest_ -igate, don't you think?" Donna asks with a grin.

"I'm glad you think so, Donna, because  _that_  is exactly what you and Jack are going to go do," the Doctor replies, eyes filled with mischief. Digging around in his pocket, he pulls a wallet out for Jack. "Here, take the psychic paper and pretend to own some corporation that belongs at one of these shindigs. Try to find out as much as you can about their operations.

"I'm guessing the facility is on fairly tight lockdown, and most of the usual security will be hidden so as to not scare the money that's come to visit. Hopefully, they'll be too distracted by them to notice us looking around at all the ugly bits they're hiding." The Doctor rubs his hands together in glee at the prospect of trespassing and exposing whatever is actually happening here. Nothing feels right, and he doesn't like it. Someone's been mucking about with the Ood, and it's time to stop them.

"Dougie, Rose, and I will go in search of the Ood and this entity. Rose has her phone, so stay in contact. Be ready to move if we decide to take action. We'll try to warn you, but…" With a shrug he trails off, and Jack gives an amused laugh, knowing exactly what he's implying—if the proverbial crap starts flying, they might be on their own to get back to the TARDIS…or an impromptu rescue mission.

"No worries, Doc. I don't like what's going on here, either. Donna and I will see what we can dig up and let you know. Care to go crash the party, Donna dear?" Jack asks, holding out an elbow and wearing a cocky grin.

"Do I ever! Lead on Rocketboy," she says enthusiastically, taking his offered arm. With a wave over her shoulder, she and Jack head off down the rise toward the parking lanes, so they can join the people filing away from the ships and walking toward the facility. "Let's go find some trouble, but remember, you're working for me now…Donna Noble, CEO of the Noble Corporation.  _You_  can be my  _silent_  partner," she says, grinning wickedly at him as she snatches away the wallet.

"Donna, I try very hard to not do anything silently, but I'll happily be your partner," Jack grins in reply. Faltering in her steps, she looks at him sideways, wondering if he's still talking about their ruse and pretends she stumbled on a rock.

Seeing her sidelong glance, Jack's grin broadens even more. He knows she picked up on the double meaning. Keeping Donna just a bit off balance is one of his very favourite projects, and he's counting on her asking him later what he meant by that turn of phrase. Answering her honestly will be one of the best days of his life…he hopes. Adding an extra little swagger to his step, he tucks Donna's hand into his elbow, covering with his own. Catching up with the others that are moving toward the buildings, he flashes his million dollar smile around, acting as if he'd just exited a space Ferrari.

* * *

Dougie, Rose and the Doctor are lying on their bellies in the snow looking at the side of the largest of the buildings. They are all made out of dingy corrugated metal; the most ubiquitous building material in all of human populated space. This building in particular has a great many doors, some of them huge. As they observe the fenced yard around it, they see very little movement, but it's regular.

"The singing is much louder here, Doctor," Dougie says as he shifts a lump of snow from beneath him.

"I know. We can hear it, too. It's so sad and achingly beautiful," Rose responds, rubbing the tears from her eyes. Crying won't really be helpful if they start getting shot at, especially since she'd barely won the intense and short telepathic argument about whether or not she was joining Jack and Donna. Rose digs some more snow out of the small hollow she'd made for her belly as the memory plays out in her mind again.

_-I'll remind you one last time, Doctor. You and I are Bonded, body and soul. If you die, I die, and vice versa. I'm staying!_ **_Got that?-_ ** _Her logic was sound, and the mere inkling that something drastic might happen with them apart, pressed his lips tightly together in dread, but he'd nodded, not bringing up even a hint of it again._

Now, they're observing the lone guard below them as he makes his regular rounds of the yard. The Doctor rests his left hand on Rose's back in sympathy for the song, but he's focused on the guard, timing him. The song will have to wait.

"Looks like we have 6 minutes and 38 seconds between guard passes, +/- 10 seconds; he's like clockwork. Let's get to that side gate in the fence. I'll sonic it, and we'll run to that alcove between buildings by that door marked 12. Everyone got it?"

Dougie and Rose nod their understanding, watching the guard turn another corner below them.

"Dougie, can you tell which building the entity is in?" Rose asks.

"Not exactly, no; there is great deal of interference. There are a substantial number of Ood here—some are singing, and some are…just blank. Do you not sense the psychic turbulence in the area?"

"That's the perfect way to describe it, Dougie. I've been blocking most of it out almost continuously for both Rose and I, since we cleared this ridge. We're still getting the song, though," the Doctor admits. Looking Dougie over with a vaguely worried expression, he says, "You've been awake less than a day, Dougie. Don't overdo it; we'll figure this out without compromising your health."

"Thank you, Doctor, but I feel well. The Ood's health is my greatest concern for now," he says looking at the buildings in a way that makes Rose thinks he wishes he could see through the walls.

"We have 14 seconds until the guard's back is to us, and before he disappears down that alley between buildings," Rose says, getting to her knees as quickly as possible. Thankful again to the 'superior Time Lord Biology' that has made the pregnancy easy so far. "Let's be ready to move in 8." With nods from the Doctor and Dougie, they join her, poised just beneath the top of the rise. Getting to his feet in a rush and pulling Rose with him, they begin rapidly and carefully making their way down the slight hill to the gate in the fence.

Sonic at the ready, the Doctor immediately goes to work on the lock as the seconds automatically tic away in his head. With a satisfying click, the bolt loosens, and they move through into the yard. Closing the gate silently behind them, they scurry across the open area, hoping no one is watching any cameras they may not have seen. Reaching the wall, they move to the alcove; the door marked 12 is just out of sight, but mere steps away.


	13. The Circle Must be Broken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It doesn't take long before everyone is finding trouble.

**13 The Circle Must be Broken…**

Donna and Jack catch up to the rest of the waiting buyers just as a young woman, introducing herself as Solana, is handing out orientation packets. Making a quip about having spoken to most of them over the vid recently, she moves next to hand Jack and Donna theirs.

"And you are…?" she asks politely, looking them over and then peering at her list.

"Jack and Donna Noble," Jack says with a winning smile that brings a slight blush to Solana's cheeks.

"Of the Noble Corporation LLC Limited," Donna manages to choke out, also blushing as she replies holding up the psychic paper as ID.

"Well, you must have dropped off the list, my apologies. It will not happen again," she says smoothly, glancing down again at her list and making a mental note to check their references. "Here is a packet. It contains everything you'll need to know about Ood Operations. Thank you," Solana responds as the Ood behind her steps forward with their packet.

Before Solana can take a step over to the next party, an alarm begins sounding. The crowd looks around vaguely interested, but she tells them it's probably just a drill. Shrugging it off, the bevy of interested Ood buyers focuses on Solana again.

Moving away from Jack and Donna, Solana addresses the crowd in general. Jack thinks she suddenly looks a little tight around the eyes. "Let's move inside where it is warmer. There are snacks and beverages available. We will be starting the presentation soon, so please enjoy yourselves." Leading them through a doorway into the showroom, Jack and Donna follow the small crowd of buyers and reps, but not before they both look around outside one more time, thinking the Doctor probably has something to do with that alarm.

* * *

Just as Rose, Dougie, and the Doctor reach the alcove they were aiming for, an alarm begins going off. A musical though highly improbable bit of swearing pops out of Rose's mouth, assuming they're the cause. Pressing themselves flat to the wall, the door marked 12 slams open and an Ood comes flying out of it being chased by men with guns.

Rose and the Doctor hold Dougie back from running after the Ood. They'd all seen his eyes, and they were red.

"Dougie! We can't help them all if we get cut down saving one. I'm sorry, but we have to stay focused," the Doctor tells him with a firm hand on his shoulder, the warning and earnest request shining in his mind.

Dougie nods his understanding and relaxes against the wall of the building, breathing hard.

"Doctor, they weren't shooting at the Ood as it ran. Maybe we should foll…" Rose is cut off by the sounds of gunfire. Dougie remains silent, but the misery is plain on his face.

As they move to step out of the alcove they, hear talking and the crunching of footsteps. Pressing themselves back firmly against the wall, they hope the relative darkness of the alcove will hide them from view. The steps near them and stop before continuing to move off in a different direction, never affording them a view of the speakers.

"Sir, that isn't the first Ood to appear rabid. The second stage of red-eye doesn't fade either."

"Thank you, Captain. You can go back to your duties; keep the Ood under constant observation."

"Yes, sir!"

They hear the sound of retreating footsteps, and Rose thinks that must have been the guard commander speaking, but who's the other voice?

"So, what's causing it, Rhyder? You must have an idea; else what the hell am I paying you for?" the other voice asks, his tone of angry frustration obvious.

"Mr. Halpen, I'm not certain. It's only escalated recently, but it seems to be spreading. Could it have something to do with 15?" This voice, Rhyder, is hesitant. He almost sounds fearful.

"Ugh! Fifteen. I hate that building; haven't been in it in ten years. It would have to be there, wouldn't it?" the voice that must be Halpen's muses. "Drink! All this stress is making my hair fall out. Ood Sigma, what do you think of all this?"

"Humanity defines us, sir."

"See, Ood Sigma is the perfect Ood. We need more like him." There is a pause that has the three conspirators glancing at each other quizzically a moment before the sound of the annoyed voice starts up again. "And now, I guess we have to go to 15. Fine, let's get this over with. Lead the way to our pet, Rhyder."

They hear the crunch of gravel as the individuals move away. Reaching out to touch both Rose and Dougie, the Doctor nods toward the side of the building and the edge of a stairway that is just visible leading to the roof. Both nodding their understanding, he takes Rose's hand, and leads them slowly around the corner and then makes a dash for the stairs. Taking them carefully, they reach the roof in time to see groups of Ood leaving several of the buildings and moving out into the yard.

The Doctor sees a varying sort of movement out of the corner of his eye and turns to see two humans and an Ood going toward a different building. One of the humans is in a lab coat. So, these are the speakers they'd overheard. Rose pulls him back to the scene below them with a tug on his sleeve as an Ood falls, slipping on the snow covered gravel. A guard moves up, shaking free a whip and threatens the Ood with it several times, cracking it around him dangerously. The Ood is able to get to his feet and rejoin the others, but cowers away from the human as he moves past. In another few moments, all of the Ood and guards have moved out of the yard below and around the corner of the building-out of sight from those positioned on the roof.

Dougie is still as stone, observing the actions below him. Rose moves to his side, and lays a gentle hand to his arm. Looking up, she's bothered to see his usually expressive features devoid of emotion; it's the most alien he's ever looked. That is, until he slowly turns his head and looks at her directly. His eyes, usually the shade of cornflowers in sunlight, are a midnight blue with flickering purple hints of brighter power just below the surface—lava flowing hot beneath a thin crust of control.

"I hate this Rose," he says softly, like it's an effort to put words to his feelings. "What is happening here…I  ** _hate_**  it. I have never hated anything in my life, nor have I ever wished I could burn the mind of another being for their actions; but I feel this…this desire. I know I could…if I looked for it. But I do not." Closing his eyes for a moment releases Rose. She didn't realise she was enthralled by his gaze. Rocking back, a little dizzily, Rose is glad for the Doctor's support as he lays a reassuring hand on her shoulder to steady her.

She'd felt completely alone, captured by Dougie's gaze, like a wasp in honey, but she wasn't. The Doctor is there, too. She thinks she should be afraid, but she isn't. Seeing the silent tears slide down Dougie's cheeks, she steps forward easily, wrapping herself around him physically and energetically.

"Dougie, I'm so sorry. I can hear them, too—all the time. I could block the Ood out, but I'm not…I won't because no one else can hear them but us. I'm protecting the baby, but the Doctor and me and you; we hear them," she tells him, willing Dougie to trust her. "We will  _fix_  this…we  _are_  fixing this, Dougie. But we need to focus; all of us. The Ood can't do this themselves, but they've got us. Okay? We can't do any of this without you, Dougie. Please?" Rose pleads with him, taking his hands in hers and enfolding her words with her intentions so he can feel her as well as hear her.

Dougie returns the embrace before straightening again, his hands in hers. His eyes are still a darker blue, but now the colour of fall skies, and not so stormy. Before he can say anything, the Doctor steps up beside Rose in solidarity for their friend.

"Rose is right, Dougie. Without you, we wouldn't have known there was a problem," the Doctor says to him as his wet gaze meets the Doctor's. "Trust me, I know it hurts. The emptiness, the aching void, and then to suddenly have it filled up with Song. You had the Sidhe and they alleviated some of the ache. It helped; made things bearable. I know we help, too, Rose and me. But the Ood, we can hear it in their song—they're shattered, kept separate from one another. They can't sing together, and it's killing them softly with this silence that they're being programmed to believe is right and good."

Encompassing everything around them with a sweep of his arm—the Ood below them, the humans working here, the visitors, the snow covered hills, and the gorgeously ringed planet taking up a third of the sky above them—the Doctor continues, "This…all of this…is why we are here, to stop whatever is happening; but we need to understand what's going on, so we can make certain it  _never_  happens again. We can't always be here, but we can help them now. And hopefully, when we're done, they'll be able to help themselves. Are you ready to help us do that, Dougie?" the Doctor asks him, holding out his hand, palm up in invitation.

With the first genuine smile they've seen on his face since meeting the Ood, Dougie takes the Doctor's hand and they grip each other tightly in mutual understanding.

"Yes, Doctor, Rose, I am ready and more than willing. I constantly find myself amazed that great Tana saw fit to bless my life with you two. Thank you," he says with a final sniff and a slightly sheepish smile. "I hope Donna and Jack haven't rescued everyone while you've been stuck up here talking me off the proverbial ledge."

"Nah! They're probably just getting to the good part of the party or they've been arrested," Rose banters back, her brilliant grin shining.

"Let's go check out that warehouse 15. Sounded like they're hiding something in there, and that means it's the perfect place to look. I do so love trespassing," the Doctor says gleefully, clapping Dougie on the shoulder before moving toward the stairs and holding a hand out for Rose.

Dougie follows close behind, feeling lighter than he has in hours. In taking the Doctor's hand, they'd shared a brief but utterly profound awareness of the other's telepathic consciousness. In past words and deeds, Dougie knew that the Doctor understood the truth behind how he felt and vice versa, but this was much more visceral. That sharing, more than his words, reminded Dougie that he was most definitely not alone.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs they take off moving from crate to machine to a wall, in a sneaky path towards a mysterious door marked 15. Another alarm rings out just as they're passing door 14. Afraid of being caught in the exposed area, the Doctor wrenches it open and they pile inside the largest room yet, completely filled with shipping containers, some stacked three high. Pulling the door shut, they hear booted feet run past outside and breathe sighs of relief at having a refuge near at hand.

"What is this place, Doctor?" Rose asks, looking around in amazement at the number of containers.

"Ood export, would be my guess. See that crane there?" He points out an enormous claw hanging from a series of tracks suspended from the ceiling. "It picks up these containers and moves them to large transports for delivery off world. The Ood we saw outside are probably for the buyers that are personally here."

Rose is about to ask another question, when her phone buzzes in her pocket. Pulling it out, she sees it's a message from Donna.

_*You will NOT believe the rubbish they were trying to feed us up here!*_

_/Oh? What's up?/ —^-}*_

_*Get this…and I quote…The Ood are happy to serve. They're your trusted friends. If you're happy, then you're Ood is happy. That last one nearly made me toss my wine at the condescending cow. But that's not the best part!*_

Trying to stay quiet and respond to Donna as they move between the containers is going to be difficult if Donna keeps being so…well, so Donna.

_/OK, I'll bite…what's the best part?/ —^-}*_

_*Well, first I decided to ask an Ood what he thought about all this. Are there any free Ood, roaming the snow plains, like wildebeests? He says, he doesn't know what I mean. Says…All Ood are born to serve, else they'd die! Then he calls me Miss. Got me a bit sidetracked, you know how I hate that. It's as bad as peo*_

_*ple thinking the Doctor and I are a couple. I mean EWWW! Jack says I need to get to the point. Idgit! I am getting to the point! That Ood almost said something about the circle, and his eyes were perfectly normal, but he got interrupted.*_

Rose begins her reply, when another message comes through, deleting her window.

_*Oh! Jack says there are Ood distribution centres all over the three galaxies. Says the Doctor will know what that means. He's got a map of this facility, so we're heading out. They were demonstrating different voices for the translators, and I might be sick if I hear one more poor Ood say -Doh!- Where are ya?*_

"I wonder if that alarm has anything to do with them?" the Doctor wonders. "Tell them to meet us here. It seems to be fairly quiet and looks to be connected to several of the other buildings, if I'm interpreting those cable tracks correctly. I'd like to see Jack's map," the Doctor says. Both he and Dougie were reading over Rose's shoulder when she'd stopped moving abruptly to focus on what Donna was saying.

_/Doctor says come to us here. We're in warehouse 14, filled with containers/—^-}*_

_*K. Cya soon*_

"So, Jack said you'd know what that meant about the distribution centres," Rose says as they continue walking.

"He's reminding me that we are in the middle of the Second Great and Bountiful Human Empire, which of course I know, but it means that there are a lot of Ood that aren't on this planet," the Doctor answers.

"You mean they use these containers to transport the Ood?!" Rose asks, incredulous, remembering that was one of the questions she'd wanted to ask before Donna texted her.

Before the Doctor can reply, Dougie moves to the nearest container and opens it, letting out a gust of foul air as light from the open door falls on the blinking faces of the Ood packed inside.

"Oh, Doctor!" Rose exclaims, covering her mouth and nose, stepping back from the door far enough she can't smell it anymore. The rancid, closed in odour of that many Ood nearly made her sick. Feeling guilty about it, she still chooses to hang back from the open door. Seeing movement further down one of the hallways between containers, she turns and heads off in that direction. Maybe it's Donna and Jack already.

"How many are there in here, Doctor?" Dougie asks quietly.

"I would guess a hundred, hundred twenty-five maybe."

"Oi, the stench!"

Startled, Dougie and the Doctor turn to see Donna and Jack walk up to join them. Donna has her hand to her nose, grimacing.

"Where's Rose?" the Doctor asks, looking around and sounding exasperated. "The wandering off! That woman will literally be the death of me. She was just here!"

"I'll go find her, Doctor. She probably didn't go far, but shouting would be a bad idea," Jack points out, giving Donna a quick kiss to the crown of her head before heading around the corner at a jog.

"That it would, especially if this alarm has anything to do with you," the Doctor mutters to himself turning back to the Ood.

"Did you say there was more than a hundred of 'em in there?" Donna asks. At his nod, she comments again, "So this Second Best Great and Wonderful Human Empire was built by slaves? That's disgusting!"

"It is," the Doctor agrees, rolling his eyes at the misremembered name. "But it isn't that different from your time."

"What? I don't have any slaves back home," she says indignantly.

"No, but the children and adults that make the clothes popular in your time are or are nearly slaves. Many hardly paid a pittance, even in countries that disavowal slavery. It is not so different, Donna," Dougie answers softly, the sadness deep in his eyes.

Donna sees the parallel, and has a moment that she doesn't really like being human. Well, she's going to be the best human she's capable of, because she's here and someone has to prove that they aren't all hopeless.

Stepping up to the Ood, she asks, "Hello! The door's open. You can be free. Why don't you run away?"

One of the Ood picks up his translator to respond, "I do not understand."

"Why don't you leave?" Dougie asks.

All of the Ood reply to him in unison, "The circle must be broken."

"What is the circle?" the Doctor asks excitedly. "Why must it be broken?"

Dougie lifts his head suddenly, like a dog catching a scent. Donna and the Doctor are so caught up with the Ood, they don't notice him leave either.

"The circle must be broken so we can sing," all the Ood reply.

Hearing the running steps of many booted feet, the Doctor pushes the door closed and looks around for everyone. Seeing only Donna, he growls in frustration as he grabs her hand, yelling, "Run!"

Careening down the paths between containers, the Doctor is worried about the others, but he's much too focused on trying to keep Donna safe to think too intently on where they're going or what everyone else is up to.  _Really, it's Rule #1! How hard is it?_  he thinks between breaths.

Abruptly, they're cut off by more guards and Donna stumbles, instantly grabbed by pursuing hands. The Doctor has to drop her hand, but manages to keep going at full speed, dodging the guards. Not liking that everyone is now missing or captured, he must to stay free if he's going to get them all out of this alive; so, he continues running, no matter how guilty he feels for leaving Donna.

He's positive he's going around in circles, when he finally notices the sounds of pursuit have gone away completely, as has the sounds of alarm. Not liking the quiet any more than he'd like the blaring alarm, he takes a moment to try and regain his breath. His bypass is a wonderful thing, but it can only do so much against the continued sprinting he'd been engaging in. Bent over, with hands on knees, the Doctor is just beginning to feel normal again, when he hears a sound that sends chills down his spine. Snapping erect, he looks up to see the crane claw coming directly for him, and maniacal laughter echoing through the distance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! Thanks so much for reading. :-) Don't forget to review; even authors need a little love. -grin- Friday's chapter is ...So We Can Sing.


	14. ...So We Can Sing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack finds Rose, they find the Doctor, the Doctor finds the Ood...where's Dougie?

**14 …So We Can Sing**

Jack is jogging past rows and rows of containers. Doing the math in his head makes him want to wretch at the numbers of Ood currently jammed into these metal boxes like so many sardines. If he'd had any idea what really went on with the Ood, he might have already been here and done something about this.

With an ugly twist to his usually handsome mouth, Jack flashes to the irony of just how untrue that thought is. If he hadn't met Rose and then the Doctor, he would have shrugged and went about his business.

He needs to remember to thank them again for saving him from being a Time Agent. He likes who is now and who he is again later when Rose first meets him. Hell, if not for them, he wouldn't know Donna or Dougie. Yep, definitely need to send some appreciation their way soon.

He'd start paying it forward now, if only he could find Rose. How can she possibly get this far away, in such a short time; that woman is amazing.

Catching a glimpse of colour that doesn't belong amongst the repetitive palette of shipping containers, Jack veers off into the new direction. Coming to the end of the row, he sees Rose in her plum coloured dress standing before a locked door marked—13 Ood Processing.

"Hey, Rosie. Whatchya doing all the way over here? The Doctor's worried, and I left Donna with… Rose?"

He'd started babbling, but wound down when there'd been no response from Rose. Slowing his steps, Jack moves gingerly around her so he can see her face, fearing what he might glimpse.

Staring fixedly at the door, her lips are moving. She seems to be either singing or talking, but there's no sound. His movement is arrested though by her eyes, which are softly glowing gold.

He was afraid of this; Rose is having a Bad Wolf moment, and the Doctor is nowhere around. He'd warned Jack that Rose's connection with the Bad Wolf within her was permanent and sometimes unconscious. It could also potentially hurt the baby. So the Doctor had asked that Jack keep an eye on her since he has more experience with her in that state. The Doctor said not to startle or anger her, but to break her out of it as quickly as possible, should anything ever trigger it.

She had definitely been triggered, but she didn't appear to be in any discomfort and her expression was a bit blank; but if he had to put an emotion to it, he'd say…determined, relaxed even? Either way, the Doctor had been explicit that she couldn't stay like that long; so not exactly certain, Jack reaches out to gently touch her hand where it's hanging by her side.

"Rosie? Hey honey, can you hear me?" When he doesn't get a response, he slides his hand into hers and squeezes, sending a little telepathic flick her way, just a casual greeting sort of touch.

 _That_ , has an effect. Golden eyes sliding to his, She smiles at him calmly before saying enigmatically, "I have prepared the way." Blinking a few times, and swaying a little, Rose's own warm light brown eyes abruptly shine back at him, confused. Listing a bit to one side dizzily, he quickly puts an arm around her to help.

"Jack! Where am I? Where are the others?" She starts peppering him with questions, becoming frantic.

"Whoa, whoa! I left them back at the container filled with Ood, but that was a while ago now," Jack says, trying to calm her down. "What made you come here?" he asks, looking around.

"I remember the smell of all the Ood made me feel sick, so I moved to the side, which made me feel horribly guilty. Poor Ood. It isn't their fault. Then I saw something and thought it was you and Donna, so I went looking…Now, I'm here…at a door. What was I doing?"

"Well, you were singing or talking silently…to the door," he says with a little shrug, "And, you may have been a little Bad Wolf-y."

"Bad Wolf? I do sort of remember hearing a singing. Weird. Well…" She cuts herself off as she suddenly turns, looking up at the sound of the crane moving.

"The Doctor…he's being chased. We have to help him!" Taking off at a run, Rose heads in a new direction. Following her, Jack sprints to catch up. He'll try to remember to ask her what she meant by "the way is prepared" later; right now, the Doctor needs saving.

Seeing the crane move back and forth, dropping down a few times as they run, spurs Rose on and Jack picks up his pace to stay with her.

"Come on, I think they're trying to kill him!" Rose pants out, trying to pick up speed. They both hear an unhinged cackle of glee ring out through the otherwise still warehouse driving her point home,.

It sounds close, so she veers off down another shorter hallway, when they see a dark haired woman scurry past the opening at the far end from them. Reaching the end of the stack, Jack and Rose peer around it to see the stairway that leads to the crane controls. Inside the control room, the young dark woman is chewing the guard up one side and down the other. He definitely looks defiant while grudgingly shutting the crane down.

"That's Solana, the woman from the presentation; she must be some kind of Operations Manager,"Jack tells Rose.

Looking around, Rose can see where the crane's descent was arrested as it sways in the air above its target.

"That way! He was aiming for the Doctor." Running again, they zigzag through the stacks of containers, trying to reach the Doctor, and presumably, Donna and Dougie. Coming to the end of the row, they see the Doctor just opening a container holding a screaming, pounding Donna in it just as they're surrounded by guards with guns. Jack stops Rose from calling or running forward when they see Donna come rushing out of the container, followed closely by several dozen red-eyed Ood that begin targeting the guards with their glowing translator globes.

The Doctor grabs Donna's hand and drags her off in exactly the opposite direction of Rose and Jack's, leaving the now rabid Ood and the guards with lots of bullets between them. Rose can't watch the guards cut the Ood down, rabid or otherwise. Moving back around the corner of the stack they'd just exited, she leans against the corrugated metal.

"I don't think I can run that much anymore, Jack," Rose says dejectedly.

"Just going out on a limb here, Rosie, but isn't that why you insisted we all have phones?" Jack points out, glad to not be chasing after Donna and the Doctor at the moment.

Snorting to herself and rolling her eyes, Rose digs in her pocket for hers. "I could kiss you," she tells him, smiling.

"You could, but that position doesn't currently have an opening," he replies cheekily.

Snorting again, she texts Donna.

_/Donna. Saw you and Doctor escape. Jack and I are on opposite side from you now. There's a door over there labeled 13 Ood Processing. Dougie?/—^-}*_

They listen for a couple of minutes and finally the shooting stops. There's some yelling and then the sound of booted feet running again. Jack glances around the corner as Rose gets a text in reply. The guards are following the Doctor and Donna, so Jack leaves them where they are.

_*Oi! Where the hell did you go? DR unhappy! Do you have JK? We don't have DG. Heading to 13 now*_

With a grimace, Rose replies to Donna, still worrying about them as well as Dougie.

_/Have Jk. We'll catch up to you at 13 from the outside. Guards heading your way./ —^-}*_

"They don't know where Dougie is, either," she tells Jack.

"Can't you guys talk to him here?" he asks, tapping the side of his head.

"The Doctor is better with him than I am, they have some sort of clearer connection. I have to be touching him, but I might be able to at least tell where he is," she explains.

Feeling out with her mind, concentrating on Dougie, Rose senses him, but that's all. The Ood and the psychic turbulence are only getting worse, and she pulls back to herself with a gasp, clutching her head. Seeing stars for a few moments, Rose can't immediately respond to Jack's inquiries.

"M'okay, Jack, really. I can feel Dougie, but that's it. I just gave myself a headache, is all. The telepathic field around here is getting more and more unstable. I have no idea how you're not feeling it," she says grimacing at the pain.

"What makes you think I'm not feeling it?" he asks with a brittle smile. "The noise in my head right now is making it hard to think and I constantly feel like I need to remind myself to breath. I just didn't want you to worry, is all."

"Oh, Jack, I'm sorry. I swear being pregnant makes me just as rude as the Doctor. I had no idea you were in pain," Rose says, putting up another layer between her and all the psychic noise. Reaching out her hand, Jack takes it, and she slaps a temporary shield in place for him.

"Oh! What did you do, that's amazing," he exclaims, eyes round in surprise.

"A little trick Dougie showed me. I basically just spackled over your telepathic receptors for a while," she explains. "Your own brain will remove it soon enough. Let's hope we're finished and out of here before then." With a smile, Rose pushes herself away from the container.

"Do you still have that map? Let's try to find a way to warehouse 13 and Ood Processing. I don't know what that is, but I guarantee none of us will like it," Rose says as Jack digs the map out of his coat pocket and they plan their route.

* * *

Within a few meters of the door Rose mentioned, the Doctor stops in his tracks, clutches his skull and does a little circle, groaning.

"Oi! I never needed a map! I should have just listened better," he growls, shaking his head to clear it. Pulling out his sonic, he stumbles the last few steps to the door and starts working on the lock.

"What are you goin' on about, Spaceman? Other than the bastards shooting those poor Ood, I don't hear anything," Donna says, clearly unhappy.

This day just keeps getting worse, and she feels like nothing is under control. Humans are horrible, Ood can be gentle and scary, her friends keep going missing, and now, something's happening and she can't hear it with her inferior human ears! For the first time since leaving London, she wants to go home. Missing her Gramps fiercely, she hugs her parka closer, wishing Jack was there.

Getting the door open, the Doctor gasps and sways in the doorway. Catching himself on it and taking a deep breath, he steps through into a room full of cages. The Ood Song is so strong he can nearly see the waves of telepathy ripple through reality around him. It's distorting the timelines which are in a serious state of upheaval. The Song is actively working to alter something, and he can almost see it without even engaging his other Time Lord senses.

Donna follows him through and he turns to sonic the door shut behind her, fusing the locking mechanism.

At Donna's startled expression, he says, "It won't keep them out forever, but hopefully it will buy us enough time to find out what's going on. Blimey!" Putting his hands to his temples, he focuses inward for a moment before opening his eyes again, looking much more clear headed. "Right, that will help for a bit. Let's see what we can find."

Donna's brow is creased, wondering what he's going on about, but she follows him through the empty cages in the near dark.

"Look, Doctor, over there," she says, pointing. Locked in a cage under one of the few lit bulbs are huddled a few Ood. They're dressed differently than the others and they stay turned in toward themselves, shuffling to keep their bodies between something they're holding and those outside the cage.

"What are they doing, Doctor?" Donna asks. Not getting a reply, she bumps him on the shoulder to get his attention.

Glancing in her direction and starting like he'd forgotten she was there is the last straw. "What are you so distracted by? What's this song you and Rose and Dougie keep goin' on about?"

"The Ood are telepathic, Donna; they sing to each other. Most of them sound like they're out of tune, or don't sing at all; but these Ood are singing like the world will end if they don't," he tries to explain, gazing sadly into the cage.

"What does it sound like?" Donna asks in curiosity. She can tell the Doctor is unhappy; hell, everyone's been unhappy since they landed here, it seems. She'd like to understand. She needs this day to start making sense.

"Would you like to hear them?" the Doctor asks her.

Nodding hesitantly at first before deciding, "Yes, I think so…yes, I want to hear them sing."

"Do you trust me?" the Doctor asks, gazing intently into her eyes, waiting for her.

"Of course," she answers immediately, earning herself a small but very sincere smile from the Doctor.

"They are singing of captivity, Donna. Are you sure?" he asks, giving her one last chance. Nodding, she steps closer to him.

Placing both hands on either side of her face, fingertips to temples, he reaches for her mind.

"Open up to me, Donna. Let yourself hear them. That's it," he says softly into the dark room.

Suddenly the most plaintive, gorgeous, and terrifyingly sorrowful melody fills Donna's mind—it's all she can hear and it takes her breath away. Gasping, she turns wide-eyed to look at the Ood. A couple of them blink at her, somehow sensing that she can hear them now.

"Oh my God, Doctor. It's so sad." Eyes filling with tears, she turns away from them, gasping. "Please take it back. I can't do it…It's too much," she chokes out between sobs. Pulling her to him, he slides his hands to her temples quickly and closes the connection between them. Hugging her close for a couple of moments, he whispers soothingly that it's all okay; everything's going to work out fine. Past the worst of the sobbing, she pulls back from him, and he hands her a hanky from his pocket. Taking it gratefully, she wipes her eyes and nose, apologising all along.

"I'm sorry. It was just too much. I care, really I do; I just…"

"Donna, it's okay. I'm sorry it was so overwhelming," he interrupts her apology with his own.

She swats him halfheartedly. "Both of us apologising is stupid," she says, trying to smile.

He returns her smile with a wan one of his own, and she notices how tight the skin is around his eyes. "You can still hear it, can't you?" she asks in sudden understanding.

"All the time," he replies sadly, staring at the Ood. Sighing, he moves to the cage door, using his sonic to get it open. Kneeling down near the Ood, he stretches out a hand toward them as Donna moves up beside him.

The Ood, for their part, stop jostling and a couple of them turn toward the Doctor and Donna.

"I'm the Doctor, and this is Donna," he says, smiling gently and pointing back and forth between them. "Doctor and Donna are friends. What do you have there? What are you holding? May I see it? That's right…we won't hurt you…let me see…"

The stream of gentle questions and wordy nudges entices the Ood nearest them to turn toward them fully. This close, they can see the range of emotions flash across the expressive brow as it moves above the Ood's beautiful hazel eyes. Eyes that are trying very hard to communicate with the Doctor.

"That's right. We're here to help. There are more of us, and we're going to fix this whole bloody mess. Now, let me see what you're protecting," the Doctor cajoles the Ood, speaking to him in calm, kind tones.

Coming to a decision, the closest Ood holds out his cupped palms to the Doctor, and then lifts his one hand away from the other, revealing a small pink, pulsing secondary brain attached by another of his flexible tentacles.

"Umm…Doctor, is that another brain?" Donna asks after her initial gasp.

"A hind brain, in fact. Ood…are born with a secondary brain," the Doctor says in excited wonder as several very unsavoury facts slide into place; the puzzle beginning to take shape. "Like your amygdala, Donna, it processes memory and emotions. Without it, you'd be like…well you'd be like an Ood…Sorry, like a processed Ood."

"You mean Ood Operations is cutting off their brains and stitching on the translators?" Donna asks, growing more indignant by the second.

"Yes, they essentially lobotomise the Ood, making them pliant and the perfect servants for humankind." The bitterness in the Doctor's tone is hard to mistake, and for once Donna is not at all inclined to defend her own race.

"You know, Doctor, I thought traveling with you was going to be amazing, moving from one miraculous event to the next. I thought everything was going to be wonderful in my naive little human mind; but we humans, we're like a virus, spreading our hate and misery all over the Universe! How do you stand it?" she asks in self-disgust. Seeing what's happening here to the Ood, and what happened between Human and Hath on Messaline, makes Donna question herself.  _Are all Humans this worthless?_

"No," the Doctor instantly replies, as if he heard her inner thought. "Because more humans than not, are like you, Donna. Filled with compassion, wonder, and a deep joy like no other species is capable of. We all have skeletons in our genetic closets; but you, Donna Noble, are one of the best humans I have ever had the privilege to meet, and I hope you're up for it…because I think we're about to be captured!"

The door he'd soniced shut earlier slams open and a dozen or more guards burst into the room, guns at the ready.

Stuffing her into the cage with the Ood, the Doctor slams the door shut after himself, locking it. Then he proceeds to challenge and mock the guards on the other side. Donna rolls her eyes at his antics, knowing he's just trying keep them off balance while he figures something out.

Kneeling down amongst the Ood, she smiles at them as they make room for her. The one nearest wrinkles its brow at her in what she thinks might be a smile. Grinning, she pulls out her phone to see where the hell the cavalry is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Friday! I hope everyone has a glorious weekend. Thanks for reading and letting me know what you think. Monday's chapter is: Transmogrification. :-)


	15. Transmogrification

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Ood fight back, and we catch up with Dougie, finally.

**15 Transmogrification**

 

_*Where are you, Rose! DR is annoying some guards. We're about to be dragged off, and could really use some help! In 13. WAIT till I tell you what they've been doing to the Ood. Sometimes I hate my own species*_

"Donna said that?" Jack asks, surprised, reading over Rose's shoulder. "She usually gets so mad when the Doctor makes even a passingly condescending remark against humans. Wow. It must be bad."

"I knew Ood Conversion couldn't be anything good. What should I tell her? That we're lost?" Looking around despondently, Rose is once again annoyed. There should be a way through between these two buildings; it's on Jack's map, but they can't find it. Faced with having to turn around and find another path makes her want to scream.

"Ask her if she's heard from Dougie, and tell her we nearly got captured. It's mostly true," Jack says, studying the map again.

They'd almost run face first into a group of guards, so technically he's right.

_/Any sign of DG? Having difficulties navigating. Trying to reach you./ —^-{*_

"We're going to have to go back, Rosie. I'm sorry, but we have to return to 14 and use that door that you sent the Doctor and Donna through, or the exterior door marked…here," he says pointing to a position on the map. "This…passage…must be a misprint. It's the only way. Did we get a response?" he asks, looking up.

"Not yet, let's go. All this running wouldn't be so hard if I wasn't moving two," she says with a wry grin, as they begin jogging back toward warehouse 14.

* * *

Inside the main warehouse of 14, there is a great deal of shouting and sporadic gunfire. Leaving quickly is the obvious choice. Deciding the exterior door of 14 is closer, Jack and Rose head back to the yard, and take more time than they wanted avoiding clusters of guards, to finally reach the outside door to the warehouse labeled 13. Finally making it there, they peer inside, and see…nothing, it's empty—no Doctor, no Donna, and no Ood.

"This whole situation is starting to get out of hand, Jack, and I don't like it," Rose says, looking around. There is an expectant hush in the yard that makes her hair stand up. Closing her eyes, she tries feeling out from herself, to see if she can…

"Rose! There's Dougie, and he has Ood with him," Jack says urgently.

Snapping back to her surroundings, Rose's eyes immediately find Dougie. He's striding purposefully toward a staircase with three Ood in tow. Apparently sensing her regard, he pauses, looking in her and Jack's direction.

There is some sort of intense connection instantly made between the two of them. Rose grabs Jack's hand and starts pulling him after Dougie. Not waiting for them, Dougie continues toward the stairs.

Jack and Rose catch up to Dougie and his Ood, just as they force their way through the door. Inside is a small conference room, and the Doctor and Donna are surrounded by red-eyed Ood. Shouting over and over that they are friends, Rose can see that the Doctor and Donna are somehow being restrained, and are desperate for help against the deranged Ood.

Nearly overwhelmed by sheer terror, Rose feels power begin to well up within her just as Dougie raises his hands in unison with the Ood he brought.

The other Ood instantly stop, freezing in place.

"The Doctor and Donna are friends of the Ood," Dougie says, a faraway quality to his voice.

An Ood in front of the heavily breathing and tearfully grateful captives replies through his translator, "Doctor, Donna are friends." All of the red-eyed Ood are suddenly normal again, blinking at their surroundings. As one they turn to leave, taking the other Ood with them, leaving Dougie, Rose, and Jack behind with the still restrained Donna and Doctor.

"Yes! That's us, friends. Oh, yes! Here to help. When you need a good neighbour…" the Doctor rattles out in a fit of relief before being cut off by Donna's exasperated shout.

"Where have you been?" Donna bellows, crying and laughing at the same time in a confusion of angry, terrified relief.

The Doctor seems to be fine, but he's stopped talking and is staring fixedly at Dougie, even as Rose rushes to his side.

"Doctor! I'm so sorry. We got turned around, and then we had to backtrack. Jack found me earlier, and we…"

"Rose, please step aside so I may release the Doctor and Donna from their bonds," Dougie says, sounding more like himself…but still…not.

"Oh! Sorry, I was…just…" Rose trails off when she turns, noticing in the process that the Doctor is staring at Dougie. Facing him, she sees why. Dougie's eyes, usually a shade of blue, are glowing a deep and flickering purple, a shade or two brighter than the purple that Rose sees as the colour of his energetic core.

"Umm, Dougie? Are you…okay?" Jack asks, stepping back from Donna.

With two synchronous clicks, the handcuffs fall open and drop to the floor on their own. The Doctor and Donna both rub their wrists as they move to their partner's sides, all of them watching Dougie warily; sensing that something big has happened.

"We are well, my friends, but we require your aid. Individually I was unable to enter 15, and together, we need you to end this," Dougie answers, smiling softly at them.

Noticing the incredulous expression on the Doctor's face, and sensing the well of questions that are about to be asked, Dougie raising his hands and says, "I will explain, Doctor, but now, we do not have the time."

"The other Ood! Halpen's going to gas them! We…," Donna begins, suddenly remembering what the madman had said just prior to leaving them.

"No, he is not," Dougie says, simply. "We have…remedied that imbalance."

Turning, Dougie heads out the door and down the stairs, not once looking back.

The friends look at each other in shock. It is the Doctor taking Rose's hand and following that finally gets the group moving. Jogging after Dougie, they see they're heading toward warehouse 15 finally, and the door is open, an Ood waiting for them.

_-Doctor…-_

_-I know, Rose. I saw it, too.-_

_-But, what do you think it means?_

_-I think it means the entity and Dougie are communicating on a completely different level. We'll figure this out, luv. Let's just finish saving everyone first.-_

Squeezing her hand as they reach the open door to 15, the Doctor lets her go to enter single file, following the Ood. He doesn't hear Rose's gasp as she clears the threshold, or see her move in a different direction.

Jack sees Rose take a different path and assumes this is something the Doctor asked her to do telepathically. Donna notices, too, but since Jack seems aware and unconcerned, she thinks it's somehow expected and says nothing about Rose's disappearance either.

* * *

"Well, how annoying. I see you decided to join my little going away party," Halpen says to the Doctor, Jack, Dougie, and Donna as they reach him and Dr. Rhyder's position. They are standing near some very sophisticated computer systems that are quite close to a low fence that appears to be blocking the edge of a platform; open space below.

"What are you doing, Halpen?" the Doctor asks.

"Taking care of business. I could run a small shipping company—specialise in rare cargos. I already have the containers and the ships. It will be easy. My grandfather started this one, and now I'm going to blow it up," he says, a sinister and unhinged combination of glee and disgust crossing his features.

"Everything was perfect for 200 years, and then you,  _the Friends of the Ood_. You just have to make an appearance and muck everything up. Well, it won't do you any good, because I…am…going…to… **blow it UP**!" Halpen shouts at them.

"Oh my God, Doctor, look," Jack says, pointing below them. He had sidled up to the edge of the drop to see what was down there.

Moving to the low fence, the Doctor peers over the edge quickly taking it all in, and suddenly all the pieces click into place. This enormous, sentient brain below them is the key to everything.

"And you, Sigma. You brought them here, you betrayed me," Halpen says sadly, looking at the Ood that had, in fact, waited for them.

"My place is by your side," Ood Sigma replies, moving to stand by Halpen. A delighted smile lights up Halpen's face, highlighting his tenuous grip on his own sanity.

"I see. I see it  _all_  now. The Ood, they have a forebrain, a hindbrain, and this…their telepathic centre—a shared mind connecting all the Ood in Song," the Doctor says wonderingly, gesturing to the brain below.

"We found that  _thing_  beneath the Great Northern Glacier. They didn't stop us from taking it. Never lifted a finger when we moved it here. It's not like they fought, they welcomed us," Halpen says, smiling at Sigma.

"You idiot!" Donna says sharply to Halpen, whose head whips up at her tone. "They're born with their brains in their hands. Don't you see? That makes them peaceful! They've got to be, because a creature like that would have to trust anyone it meets!" she finishes indignantly.

Feeling a rush of pride, Jack steps up behind her, laying a warm and supportive hand to her shoulder. The Doctor looks over with a grin.

"Oooo, well said, Donna!" he tells her, a small part wishing he'd thought of it.

"Thanks," Donna replies, a little flustered at the praise and support.

Reaching back for Rose's hand, the Doctor suddenly realises that she isn't there and hasn't been for some time. Looking around, he doesn't see her. Jack notices his motions and makes the intuitive leap that Rose is missing—her earlier motivations her own and not part of a plan. That can't be good.

The Doctor is looking around for her, but snaps back to Rhyder, who suddenly begins speaking, edging toward the fence. "You should never have let me at the computer systems, Halpen. I've worked for 10 years to get to this position, so I could help the Ood. We wanted to tell the Empire the truth about what was going on here. I lowered the barrier to its most minimal setting. I am a Friend of the Ood." Looking down at the huge brain below with something akin to love, he doesn't see Halpen move to his side.

"And it worked," Rhyder says, turning back. "The Ood are fighting back against your…"

Halpen takes two steps and unceremoniously bends forward, tossing Rhyder over the side. Rushing to the fence, the Doctor, Jack, and Donna see Rhyder fall onto and then into the brain, cutting off his cries. Donna turns into Jack's side, not wanting to think about the poor man's sacrifice. The Doctor turns angrily to Halpen, and Dougie steps forward.

"Would you like a drink?" Sigma asks abruptly, stepping to Halpen's side.

"Ood Sigma, loyal to the last, eh?" The expression on Halpen's face looks confused, or perhaps ill; it's a bit hard to tell.

"Would you like a drink, sir?" Sigma says, holding out a glass.

"All this stress, you see, it is making me go bald," Halpen says almost conversationally to the others, reaching for the glass.

Faltering, he pulls his hand back, blinking questioningly at Ood Sigma. "You never offer. I always…ask. Have…have you been poisoning me?"

"It is not the Ood way. Ood must never kill," Ood Sigma replies.

"Oh…OOOoohhhh," the Doctor comments, and then asks, "Ood Sigma, what's in the drink?" The look on his face saying that he knows exactly what's about to happen.

"Doc?" Jack asks, trying to get his attention.

"Not now, Jack"

"But, Doc…"

"It is Ood graft suspended in a biologic compound, Doctor," Ood Sigma explains.

"Ahh…the three parts of the Ood revolution, Halpen," the Doctor steps forward to explain. "The red-eye manifested as revenge, the rabid Ood as anger, and then there was patience. All the Ood's intelligence and mercy, focused on Ood Sigma."

"The way has been prepared," Dougie says.

They couldn't see where it came from, but suddenly a gun appears in Halpen's hand, and he unsteadily points it Donna and Jack. Jack slips around Donna, placing himself in front of her; the Doctor steps forward to place himself between Halpen and his friends.

"I…I don't know what you've done, but…this…" Dropping the gun, Halpen clutches his belly and then his head in pain.

"Oh, I think the Ood have been preparing you for a very long time," the Doctor says almost casually, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Rhyder lowered the shields and here you are, so close to the Ood Brain…can you hear it Halpen?" the Doctor taunts him.

"Doctor!" Jack says urgently, now grabbing his shoulder.

"Jack!" the Doctor mimics sarcastically. "What is your…"

"The way has been prepared," they hear come from below in a voice that is and is not Rose Tyler's.

Rushing to the barrier, the Doctor looks down to see Rose standing by the Ood Brain, eyes glowing gold. Reaching up as high as she can, the tip of her finger brushes one of the charges that the Doctor now sees are distributed around the barrier encircling the Ood Brain.

The Circle!

"Rose!" he shouts, as a burst of golden energy shoots from her hand and traces its way around the circle of pylons disabling the charges.

"Doctor!" Donna shouts frantically.

Torn by where to focus his attention, he glances toward Donna. Hearing a desperate and wet gasp, they all stare at Halpen. Clutching his skull, he begins pulling his skin away revealing the smooth pate of an Ood at the same time as his fresh sensory tentacles spill out of the orifice that used to be his mouth. Staring in awe and a little disgust, Rose is momentarily forgotten when in a last wet hacking cough, Halpen's new hindbrain pops out, landing in his hands. Looking up, the newly formed Ood, previously known as Halpen, blinks at his surroundings…confused.

Jack, the Doctor, and Donna are still staring aghast at the Ood that was once human when they hear the entire system begin powered down. Whipping his head around, the Doctor sees Dougie at the controls, switching everything off. Suddenly remembering that Rose is below with the Ood Brain, the Doctor rushes to the barrier, followed by Jack and Donna.

They see Rose step forward, splaying her hands just above the brain, and the golden glow that had been only in her eyes begins spreading across the brain. The Doctor looks panicky as he turns to search for the stairway down. Stopping him, Jack grips his shoulder. The Doctor is about to shout or punch Jack when he sees what has he and Donna riveted.

Moving to stations opposite Rose, Dougie and Ood Sigma mirror her stance, splaying their hands centimetres above the surface of the Ood brain. New energy flows from both of them, purple from Dougie and red from Ood Sigma, spreading across the brain and meeting Rose's gold. As the energies collide, the Song blasts forth from the Ood Brain so loud even Jack and Donna can hear it cry out in pure joy—free at last the Song is fed out and away from the Ood Sphere, reaching every single living Ood in the Empire.

Rose, Dougie, and Ood Sigma boost the signal, feeling in their minds as it leaps from Ood to Ood in a chain linking all them for the first time in 200 hundred years. When the last Ood is added to the matrix, the power winks out and all three of the amplifiers collapse to the floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew! Sorry that was late. I was traveling this weekend, and just got back. There won't be an update Wednesday, I think. Who knows? I might surprise you. :-) I am packing up to move to the next event, and I'm not sure I'll have time to be online. There will definitely be an update Friday, if I don't make Wednesday. Thanks for staying with me. Two more Ood chapters, before the next adventure. Please review! Cheers!


	16. A Brainstorming Session

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We find out what happened to everyone, and Dougie makes a decision.

**16 A Brainstorming Session**

 

Ignoring the need for stairs, the Doctor leaps the fence, his coat billowing around him like wings. Rolling to his feet on the floor below and running to her side, he pulls Rose's limp form into his arms, feeling frantically for her pulse and reaching for her mind. Receiving reassuring signs that she's only unconscious, and if everything he can feel is correct, then she and the baby are fine.

A warm wave of gratitude washes over him as he hugs Rose to himself. Closing his eyes, he can feel that it's coming for the Ood Brain. It is trying to communicate with him, and it feels very similar to his TARDIS. The communication reminds him of how She felt to him for so long, before he and Rose bonded...well, and Bad Wolf...and...well,lots of things. Relaxing, he allows the Brain to send him images and sensations, now that he knows Rose and the baby are safe.

It shows him disjointed but marvellously intriguing snapshots of Ood development and evolution—of its home in the far north. Then how the humans came, and the conversions, the move to this facility, the constant striving to reach beyond the barrier. When Rhyder came, it knew hope for the first time in a very long while.

And then it felt Dougie on the space station. It was in that moment, when they first touched, that the Ood Brain knew its salvation and the survival of its people was assured. Dougie could more than communicate with the Ood—he is a conduit through which the Ood Brain can communicate to the world outside the Ood Sphere. Until there are once again Ood Elders, Dougie is the only conduit available.

Pondering the possibilities around these observations, the Doctor is filled with wonder and a great many questions. Before he can ask any of them, the Ood Brain reaches out for him again.

The first image is of himself from the Ood's perspective on Space Station Alpha Episilon; the next another image of himself, obviously seen through Ood Delta 50's eyes; the final image is of he and Donna looking properly terrified with several Ood baring down on them with lit and dangerous translation balls.

An intense wave of apology follows these images, but is almost immediately replaced by the sound of the Doctor's own heartsbeat. Confused as to why the Brain is sending him this perception, he then hears it projected to him doubly. Understanding the Ood Brain is attempting to recognise Rose, The Doctor sends an acknowledgement. The next set of images are confusing, but through a golden haze, it appears that Rose, acting as the Bad Wolf was somehow known to the Ood Brain, and it recognised her through the unprocessed Ood in warehouse 13. She had been able to communicate to them, telling them that they were there to help, that all things happen for a reason, and the horrible situation the Ood found themselves in was about to stop.

Looking down at his remarkable wife, the Doctor wonders what's next in store for them. He can feel the edge of something coming, some event over the horizon, but there aren't enough clues yet. His worried contemplation is interrupted as he feels her begin to stir in his arms. With a groan and much blinking, Rose finds herself held close to the Doctor's chest, hearing the comforting syncopation of his hearts beating.

"Doctor! I…we…gah! My head! Dammit, I'm tired of this woo-woo stuff giving me headaches. Oh! The Song…my God,  _Doctor_ , can you hear that?" This disjointed and entirely Rose bit of commentary pulls a smile to the Doctor's face as his hugs her close and rests his cheek against her hair.

"Yes, Rose, I can hear it. Even Donna and Jack can hear it while we're still so close to the Ood Brain. Do you know what you did?" he asks her, leaning back a bit so she can look up at him. They can hear the pounding of steps on stairs as the others hurry to join them.

"Sort of. I can remember it, but it's like I'm looking through fog. I knew what I was doing at the time, though. I'm sorry I didn't warn you. The Bad Wolf bits are still a little…," she trails off looking for the word. She's incredibly tired, but the rubbing that the Doctor is doing to the base of her skull is taking the edge off the headache, and she feels like standing won't make her want to puke any longer.

"Unpredictable…unstable? Is that the word you're looking for?" he answers her with a small smile that then slides away to a hollow look in his eyes. "You scared me, Rose. All I could think about was you and the baby."

"Unpredictable will work," she agrees, smiling at him. "I'm so sorry I worried you," she apologises, laying a cool hand to his cheek lovingly. "I protected the baby the entire time; I promise." At his nod, she asks, "Can you help me stand? I want to check on Dougie and Ood Sigma," she says, sitting up so she can slide off his lap.

Pulling her to her feet, the Doctor holds her at arms length a moment gazing deeply into her eyes before wrapping her close once again-needing the reassurance. Letting her step back, he's pleased that she doesn't appear dizzy, the effects from the energy blast dissipating faster than he would have expected. He does feel a bit guilty now, knowing that he completely forgot about Dougie and Sigma in his haste to reach Rose. He'd flung himself over that ledge without a single thought to consequences…typical. Rose will probably have something choice to say when she hears about it.

"Oi, Spaceman! Are you a bat or something? Scared the hell out of us, you did with that leap into thin air," Donna tosses loudly in his direction as they reach the lower level.  _Guess Rose finding out would be now-ish,_  the Doctor thinks to himself with an inner wince.

Glancing at his wife's arched eyebrow, the Doctor shrugs a little too nonchalantly before turning back and saying to Donna, "Check on Ood Sigma, would you? We've got Dougie."

Rose and the Doctor reach Dougie just as Donna and Jack make it to Ood Sigma's side, followed closely by the new Ood that had once been Halpen.

"Dougie, it's Rose. Are you okay?" Dougie is just stirring as they kneel beside him and she takes his hand in hers. He feels cooler than usual, but he's smiling at her even before opening his eyes.

"Rose, my friend, I am well. My head is a bit tender, and it seems very bright in here, but everything is where I left it," he jokes. Eyelids fluttering, it takes him a similar moment to really come back to himself. Pressing his finger tips to his eyes, he rubs them and his forehead as Rose and the Doctor help him sit up. Finally, looking up at them with a genuine and very Dougie smile, Rose and the Doctor stare; his eyes are a clear, gorgeous lavender—the colour of lilacs in spring.

"Dougie, your eyes, ummm…they're purple. They were purple when you came for the Doctor and Donna, too," Rose whispers, feeling strangely saddened and not understanding yet why.

"I expect that they are. The Ood Brain and I are now connected. The red-eye that frightened the humans is the outward sign of the Ood communicating with the Ood Brain. They naturally have a sort of hive mind," he explains as the rest of the gang and the two Ood join them.

"A communication you have helped restore. I feel the connection between myself and all of Ood kind, now. We are most grateful to you." Ood Sigma says through the translation sphere, bowing slightly to Rose.

"I don't understand," the Doctor begins, stepping up beside Rose. "If you can hear the Ood Brain without your hindbrain, then what did you need Dougie and Rose for?"

"Doctor, there are more processed Ood at the moment than natural Ood, and will be for some time. They can hear each other because of me. I am the conduit, transmitter, and translator of the purely telepathic signals coming from the Ood Brain for the entirety of the processed Ood," Dougie explains to them all, but he's looking intently at Rose.

"You're going to stay," she says brokenly, feeling all the events slide into place. " _The way has been prepare_ d; we kept saying that—it was prepared for you."

"For us, Rose Tyler; one of us alone could not have sent the signal to bring the Ood home. The Ood needed all of us, to be free; they need me to learn how to stay that way," Dougie replies gently.

"But Dougie, you really want to  _stay_  here…on this ice ball?" Donna asks, saddened by the news.

She and Jack had watched in horror as the Doctor threw himself over the edge to reach Rose. Rushing to the barrier, they were afraid they'd see him broken on the floor beneath them. The image of him rolling gracefully to his feet and running to Rose will be burned in Donna's mind forever. In a haze of relief, they had run back to locate the stairway, and finally made it to the lower floor as Ood Sigma was stirring. She was sure everything would be alright now. They could go someplace new, preferably some place warm…with less running…maybe a week on San Helios, but now…Dougie's staying?

"Dearest Donna, I have found my purpose. The reason I survived all those millennia is this moment, this time, and these people. They need me," he explains, hoping she'll understand.

"But what if we need you?" she asks, eyes brimming with tears. Jack moves up beside her, pulling her close. She clings to him, still staring at Dougie. Today has been very difficult for her, and ending it with losing a friend, makes Donna feel very vulnerable. She doesn't like the feeling.

"I'm not dying, Donna," he replies with a glimmer of his usual smile. "Think of it as a separate vacation. We will see each other again. I know it to be true."

The Doctor looks up sharply at that comment, wondering if the connection to the Ood Brain gives Dougie more power/perception/ability than he's saying. He's distracted from these thoughts by Donna detaching herself from Jack's side to throw herself into Dougie's embrace.

"We'll come visit, yeah," she says wetly into his robe. "And if the Ood don't need you later on, you can come back, right?"

"You'll always be welcome, Dougie. You have your key, you'll know we're coming when it warms up," the Doctor says with a lopsided smile. "You should at least come with us to say goodbye to the Ol' Girl, and I'm sure you have a little packing to do."

The Doctor feels the sadness of Dougie's leaving pulling at his hearts. He hadn't realised how intricately the tall Tanu had woven himself into their lives until his departure was imminent. The Doctor knows that his companions generally leave, and he's usually thought about what would happen when they did. He's had plenty of experience with every variety of leave-taking from death to a happy wave, but it rarely surprised him. Dougie's leaving is surprising, and while he understands, he doesn't have to like it.

Receiving a soft mental touch from Rose, he feels her own sadness wash over him as well. She loves Dougie like a brother and hates to see him go-no matter how necessary it is, but she surprises the Doctor twice in nearly as many minutes by most of her sorrow being for him. Knowing that losing such an empathetic confidant will be hard on him, now that they've had nearly a year together. Dougie has been like a brother to him. A lone individual whose race has moved on without him, leaving him barren of the comfort of belonging-that's Dougie, but it's also himself. Losing Dougie, even temporarily, will be akin to losing his people again-though on a much smaller scale, of course. His mind will be that much quieter. The Doctor hadn't realised how important that extra hum has been to him, until now-knowing he has to leave and Dougie will be staying.

Thanking everything holy that he can think of (but doesn't really believe in) for Rose. He pulls her close, hugging her tightly to himself, communicating silently to her how they'll all be fine—he'll be fine—but he's eternally grateful for her and her constant support and understanding...and the hum in the back of his mind that's all her.

Stepping back from the Doctor, Rose takes a moment to regain her composure before turning back to Dougie.

"Well, let's get this show on the road, shall we? We have to get back to the TARDIS first before any real goodbyes need to happen, right?" she asks with a light smile that does nothing to hide the sorrow in her eyes.

"Dougie, please say you'll stay to have at least one more supper with us on the TARDIS. I'm starving, and I know She'll want to say goodbye, too," Donna entreats him.

Looking at the concerned faces of his friends…no,  _family…_ Dougie feels truly loved. He knows this is sudden, but he'd felt the rightness of it immediately; and when the Ood Brain asked for help, it never occurred to him to refuse. Now, seeing how much he means to them shining in their faces, his love for them swells in his heart.

The Ood will need him for many years to come, but luckily he's not even middle-aged amongst his own people and has centuries still open to him. Plus, he  _knows_  he will see them again. In brief, glowing instants, Dougie is periodically showered with glimpses of things that can only be the future. He has no idea how the Ood Brain's consciousness can encompass time, but he has no power to stop the cascade. He has seen fleeting images of great cities to come for the Ood, the Ood Elders returning, and a challenge that must be faced. When focusing on his TARDIS family, the glimpses are quicker, almost too fast to follow, but there will be love and loss in near equal measure. Dougie knows he can't and shouldn't try to explain what  _he_  hardly understands, but the desire to give comfort is nearly overwhelming.

His new partner, the Ood Brain, feels his hesitation and grief and sends him a wave of understanding. He should go, spend the evening with his family. It will be many days before the Ood begin returning. He can have some time on his own. This is shown to Dougie through pictures, emotions, and alien thoughts that he isn't quite able to completely interpret yet, but he gets the gist of it…Go, have fun.

Feeling the Ood consciousness recede to the back of his mind, Dougie nods to them and says with a smile, "It seems I do not have to start my new job today, and I've been given the weekend off."

 _{Brother Dougron, I will go and begin preparing for the returning Ood-kind. We will meet you near the Singing Ship before She departs,}_  Ood Sigma tells Dougie silently.

Turning to Ood/Halpen, Ood Sigma leads him toward the exit; they have a lot of work to do before their brethren begin returning. Ood/Halpen looks back at the group once, before heading up the stairs with Ood Sigma.

"What will happen to Halpen, Dougie?" Jack asks.

"He is Ood-kind now, and they will take care of him. He is unprocessed and so will begin by assisting the returning Ood's reintegration," Dougie replies to him. "They cannot grow back what was removed from them, but they can be taught to listen differently. The Ood Brain has had 200 years to work on potential solutions; some of them are quite remarkable," he says, smiling proudly.

It is that proud smile that soothes some of the hurt in Rose's hearts. He really is meant for this. She'd known deep inside herself when they'd first agreed to invite him aboard that he survived for a reason. Selfishly, she'd hoped they were that reason but she knew otherwise, even if she didn't want to admit it.

Seeing his eyes return to a shade more like his own, a light blue-violet with only a hint of the Ood Brain's red shading them, the Doctor chooses to be pleased for his friend. He'll miss Dougie's quick mind, unique understanding, and nimble fingers, but he's also thrilled for him. Dougie is perfect for what the Ood need in this precarious transition.

The Doctor previously would have just turned them loose and let them worry about the clean up on their own. Even he has to admit to himself that that wasn't always the best decision…for either party. These sorts of thoughts always lead him back to Rose. She wouldn't be able to leave them floundering around trying to relearn what it means to be free and self-sufficient; she'd want to help. They brought the means and the solution for this revolution with them. It means they lose Dougie for a time, but the Ood will be much better for his staying, and he will benefit as well.

The Doctor knew Dougie enjoyed traveling with them, and was sometimes almost painfully grateful, but he didn't  _need_  them.

Losing his ties to his origins had been hard on Dougie, just as it had been for the Doctor. But the Doctor had found Rose, in the most unlikely of places, and in her his purpose lay. Now Dougie has found the Ood, and the Doctor is almost eager to see what happens next. How will the Ood develop? What will Dougie's influence change? Will the Ood inspire Dougie in ways the Doctor can't foresee?

These questions and others bounce around the inside of the Doctor's mind as they reach the exit and move out into the evening air. Donna and Jack's chattering to Dougie breaks off abruptly as they see clusters of Ood already clearing up the mess their revolution left behind.

Many are gently moving the bodies of the fallen humans to lay in neat rows, awaiting identification and a ship to retrieve them. More are laying the fallen Ood out as well. Others are putting out fires and gathering debris. Looking around, there is at least one unprocessed Ood, whose eyes are a purple-tinged red with each group, directing their movements. There are a few humans, but they are rapidly filing into one of the ships that had landed earlier in the day. From their movements and agitation, it is obvious they are eager to be away.

Ood Sigma is speaking to one of the humans a little ways from the ship. Concluding their business, the man steps back, bows slightly, and then holds out a hand that the Ood clasps simply in his for a moment before they both move in different directions—Ood Sigma toward warehouse 14 and the human into the waiting ship.

"That was Jan Ilanowski, a Friend of the Ood. It is lucky that he was here. He had just joined Dr. Rhyder's team last week. Ood Sigma hid him when the tide was turning so he would not be a casualty of friendly fire, as it were. He'll work with me and be our Human Liaison to assist in the Ood's return," Dougie explains the group, knowing they were wondering.

"Can you hear them all, Dougie?" Rose asks, her eyes wide in wonder at what that means for Dougie.

"Yes and no, Rose," he replies. As he begins to lead them toward the TARDIS, he continues explaining, "I can, if I choose, focus on any one Ood and hear them; but my true purpose is literally to be a conduit. I am uniquely qualified to be a lens the Ood Brain can use to communicate to the rest of its brood. It has currently pulled back as far as it can and still maintain a link to Ood it can communicate with—the Unprocessed and Sigma. The natural Ood can still link telepathically with the Ood Brain through me, and can then tell the Processed Ood what needs to be done. That is why there is a natural Ood with each group of Processed Ood."

"Were you speaking for the Ood Brain when you rescued Donna and me earlier?" the Doctor asks.

"Yes, it…we… _understand_  one another on a nearly chemical level," he attempts to explain. "Perhaps it was my exposure to the TARDIS, but I feel I almost translate the Ood Brain in the way She translates languages for us. Being more corporeal than She is, I can actually speak for the Ood Brain."

"So, that's why your eyes were neon purple when you rescued us, then." Donna states nodding. "It was really impressive. A little disconcerting though, just so you know. It might freak out the humans a bit when you speak to them on behalf of Itself." Grinning, Donna likes the idea of putting all the CEOs that had supported this heinous industry off their stride when their great, big glowing-eyed Tanu lays down the new rules for them. She'd love to be a fly on that wall.

"Apparently so, Donna; I was a bit busy to notice," he teases her and earns himself a swat for it.

Making a turn around a snow covered hill, they can no longer see the facility or the landing field. Returning to the joking banter that colours their usual interactions, Jack, Dougie, and the Doctor start making plans to see the rest of the Ood Sphere over Dougie's mini-Holiday. Rose and Donna are excitedly making plans for dinner, and maybe a cake…or two. Might as well make it a party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I apologise for the delay. Thanks for being so patient! I got home last night, and now that my office is set back up here's the new chapter. :-) 
> 
> -sigh- I don't want to see Dougie stay! Stupid muse -pout- 
> 
> Monday's chapter is: And Fill to Me the Parting Glass.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little mini-Holiday for everyone before Dougie's departure.

**17 So, Fill to Me the Parting Glass**

 

The Ood allow Dougie three days to spend with his TARDIS family. There is a great deal of food. Jack, Rose, and Donna going all out to make everyone's favourites as well as several Tanu dishes that Darling helps Rose make especially for Dougie—her own contribution.

When they aren't laying around the TARDIS complaining about being overfed, the team goes exploring. Borrowing one of the abandoned ships, Jack flew them around the planet, landing anywhere that looked interesting. They visited to Great Northern Glacier and its counterpart at the southern pole, finding evidence of more Ood, but no actual persons.

The magnificent ice caves abutting the Northern Glacier earned an entire day of exploration. Not cities exactly, but enormous den-like caverns that once housed thousands of Ood-kind. Cleverly fashioned light tunnels bounced and reflected sunlight down into the main caverns so it was lit from within like a glowing crystal palace. Donna and Rose were speechless at the incredible beauty of the Ood's original home. Unfortunately, everything was not so beautiful.

The tunnels the Ood had used leading from the home caverns to where the Ood-Brain had lain were a testament to the destructive force that uncaring humans could have on unwary peoples. Still littered with two centuries-old bones and the carbon scoring of a one-sided battle, the blasted open tunnel walls and exploded ceilings still held silent vigil for their murdered inhabitants. The Time Lords and their companions were also silent in their observations of the place. Moving through the debris of many years, they make certain that the horror is acknowledged-a starting point to make sure it doesn't ever happen again.

* * *

Exploring the more temperate equatorial regions reveals more diverse life. Being mostly ocean dotted with islands, much of the life is seabird-like creatures with wings of skin like a bat, several varieties of reptile-like amphibians, and many, many fish…well, they're like fish, anyway. According to Dougie, the Ood are the only sentient life on the planet. He tells them the Ood brain showed him that the under-glacial oceans are teeming with bacterial life and fish of all kinds, but nothing else has evolved large enough to hold intelligence.

When Dougie finally relays that he has felt the call and it is his last day, Jack takes them off planet to explore the planetarily dense solar system. Rose is thrilled to get such a good view of the ringed planet the Ood Sphere orbits. Its washed-out and diverse bands of blue and green storms are definitely a highlight of the trip. There is one other gaseous giant that helps to maintain the gravitational balance between the binary star system and the half dozen other rocky planets. They do a flyby of the Sense Sphere, but far enough away to not trip the proximity alert beacon warning them off. The Doctor tells them it is the only other inhabited planet—the others too far out or too near the suns to sustain life.

Upon landing back at the docking field, Donna makes a point of telling the Doctor that while their borrowed Space Ferrari was fun, it was too small and it's not like it can travel in  _time_ —the TARDIS is way better.

The grin that splits his face at her declaration is worth all the earlier grumbling. He's so delighted, that he actually makes a point to notice a couple of nice amenities the ship did have that he should add to the TARDIS. Laughingly, they joke and tease each other while sharing their favourite parts of the day's adventures as they walk through the crisp white snow. Rounding the last turn to the TARDIS, they see Ood Sigma and six natural Ood waiting for them arrayed in an arc.

Realising that this is it—their final minutes with Dougie—sobers everyone's spirits.

"Well, I see the sendoff crew has arrived," the Doctor says, stuffing his hands in his pockets and doing a passable job of not letting the disappointment show on his face.

"Ood Sigma, it's good to see you again. Are the preparations going well?" Rose asks, also doing her best to stay cheerful in the face of Dougie's departure.

"All objectives are progressing well. Many Ood are in transit, but there is still much to be accomplished. We have come to bid you farewell for now," Ood Sigma tells them.

The Doctor has a very odd feeling about this moment. Looking at Rose, he sees her brow is drawn up as well. It isn't a fixed point…not exactly, but a serious shift is about to happen. He holds back as Donna and Jack move to Dougie's side for embraces and well wishes.

Letting his other senses slide forward, the Doctor stiffens to remain upright. The number of timelines currently being affected is staggering. The possibilities are so thick and dense, quivering in anticipation, that he can only maintain his grip on that 'sight' for a few seconds before he lets it fall away again, breathing hard; his hearts thumping in his chest.

Rose squeezes his hand and he looks over to her. "Did you just try to see what's going on?" she asks quietly, Donna and Jack's tearful laughter with Dougie covering her words.

"Yes, and it was a mistake, don't…," he begins, but then trails off at her pained smile. "Oh. You already did." Quirking a grin at her, he asks, "So what do you think?"

"I think I'll wait and see what happens before I try that again, thank you," she replies with her own smile. "We should join them, before it seems odd that we're hanging back."

Nodding, the Doctor and Rose step up to the group wishing Dougie the best…"keep in touch"…"it's a super-phone for a reason"…"if you need anything…"

"My friends, we will see each other again, I promise," he tells them, smiling broadly. The Doctor can feel that he's saddened, but also excited to begin—this is right.

"Thank you for everything you have given me in our time together. I was lost and only treading water on Earth, alone and forgotten. The day Gracious Tana dropped you in my backyard was the best day of my life. I will think of you all each and every day. Be well, my friends. Tana's blessing on your travels." Dougie touches or hugs each of them briefly before actively stepping back from the group to stand beside Ood Sigma, and surrounded by the other Ood.

Shuffling toward the TARDIS, they stop before Her to wave again as Ood Sigma and Dougie take a step forward together. All the Ood's eyes are red and Dougie's are an electric purple. At once they can hear the enormity of the Ood's Song in the air around them.

"There will always be a place for you in the Song, Doctor and Bad Wolf. Our children's children will sing of our brother Dugron's family and their singing Ship. You will never be forgotten, and your names will be carried by the wind, ice, and snow," Ood Sigma tells them, the Ood behind them raising their hands and adding a new melody to the Song that must be theirs.

Rose is moved to tears by the beauty and grace in the Song. The strains of hope, happiness, and rebirth weaving into a great symphony of love.

"We have our Song, too, and we will sing of your bravery and perseverance through time and distance. Take care of Dougie; his Song is important to us," Rose tells them, letting the tears fall down freely, most of them are happy ones.

Dougie, speaking for the Ood Brain, smiles, but then looks pained as he says sadly, "There is a Song that will end soon, but we will remember."

Moving protectively in front of Rose, the Doctor's expression turns stern. "What's that supposed to mean, then?" he asks, the Oncoming Storm not so distant in his eyes at this moment.

"All Songs must end at some point, Doctor," he says enigmatically, glancing at each of them for a moment. "Ours will always include the songs of the Doctor, Donna, Bad Wolf, and Jack who brought us our Brother Dugron. You will always have our gratitude."

Smiling gently, he turns and leads the Ood away back toward the work that has only just begun.

"Well, that was cryptic," Rose says. She'd felt a shiver race down her spine at his words, the prophecy of the Beast still fresh in her mind. Who would it be this time?

Sensing her thoughts, the Doctor turns to her, placing both hands on either side of her face and kissing her gently before resting his forehead to hers.

"He could have meant anything, Rose. It could be a sun going nova that we like to visit or any number of things…"

"Or he could have meant one of us. I know the possibilities, too. He could just mean change; all endings are beginnings, right?" she asks, smiling against his embrace.

"That's exactly right, my brave Rose."

_-I love you-_

_-I love you, too, my Doctor-_

"That was a bit weird, yeah?" Donna asks as the Doctor and Rose turn hand in hand to join them at the TARDIS doors.

"Weirder than our friend being possessed by a giant, pulsing brain in a building, staying to help a nearly completely disabled race that are born with extra brains in their hands, and you think this last bit was weird?" Jack quips, doing his best to lighten the mood. Successful, he pulls a laugh from Rose and Donna as they open the doors and file inside, each person taking their place around the console.

But when passing Jack, the Doctor can see the shadow in Jack's eyes that he knows is mirrored in his own. What did the Ood Brain mean, and how would they be affected?

Upon reaching her station, Donna immediately asks if they can visit Earth and her family before the Doctor can even inquire about destinations. She wants to visit Wilf and her mum after everything thats happened.

Picking a time a couple of months after their last visit, the Doctor turns and receives a little wave and grin from Rose that she's all strapped in, before throwing the dematerialisation switch.

Wheezing and fading from view on the Ood Sphere, only the TARDIS knows that Dougie came back to watch, his blue-violet eyes filled with longing and heartache.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Sigh- While I love that Dougie stays to help the Ood, losing him for even a while makes me sad. I've grown quite fond of the big, lanky lump. :-) Ahh, well, onwards and outwards. Wednesday's chapter titled, Lost in a Lost World.


	18. Lost, in a Lost World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dropping Donna and Jack off with Wilf and Silvia for a few day, the Doctor and Rose stumble into a situation while on their way to a baseball game.

**18 Lost in a Lost World**

 

"I miss you, Papa," the young woman whispers, reaching forward and laying a handful of lush, bright yellow tulips on the grave before her. It reads…

In Loving Memory

Cherished Father and Husband

John David MacDonald

b. April 18th 1811—d. July 3rd 1884.

Beside the worn marble stone is set another, somewhat more weathered…

In loving memory

Beloved Wife and Mother

Athena Leira MacDonald

b. November 20th 1823—d. July 2nd 1864.

"Oh, Papa. You wouldn't believe what's changed. I miss you so much. My time is almost finished, and …" Looking up, the young woman suddenly stills, her oddly large, copper-coloured eyes darting to the shadows between trees and behind the other stones in the cemetery, zeroing in on even the minutest movements. It's been thirty long years since she last tried to visit her parents. Tensely, she waits to see if whatever she sensed manifests itself. Even with her more heightened senses, she doesn't hear or smell anything out of place; so after waiting, poised to run for a minute, she relaxes again and picks up where she left off.

"I think I might be the last, Momma. I know I never knew you, but I remember…everything—I'm not ready to die," she gasps quietly to the stones before her, the silent tears tracking her cheeks. Leaning forward, she lays a hand on each stone and bows her head in grief that still feels as fresh as it did when she stood by and watched them bury her father here so many years ago. Then, this cemetery had many mile of farmland between it and the centre of Chicago. Now, it's an easy bus ride to the Lake and Downtown, all of it populated and bustling.

Changes…there have been so many—cars, planes, computers…hell, electricity. Her scattered thoughts are brought back to clarity in an instant as she hears the soft sound of a foot sliding through grass, trying to be quiet. That's what has her attention—the  _attempt_  at stealth. Stupid Humans, no matter how hard they try…

This disparaging thought is cut off by the shout of, "NOW!" Springing to her feet, she moves to leap over her mother's grave, but abruptly finds herself wadded up in a net of glossy pale fibres, rapidly being drawn toward a group of people some fifty feet behind her.

Instincts taking control, she divides herself—the feeling of slipping from one form, storing the extra energy and sliding into another, overwhelming her conscious thoughts. With a small whump of compressed air, the net that was once holding a small, struggling humanoid, flies into the air empty, falling at the feet of the leader in a pile.

"Was the tracking dust in place?" he asks, eyes narrowed and searching the grass and air for their quarry.

"Yes, Sir! We should be online momentarily," his aide says, staring intently at a handheld tracking device.

The tall, imposing figure is easily distinguished as the leader of the five-man team. He's a head taller than the rest and he inhabits his grey uniform as if born to it. His grey hair and wind-blown features are a testament to his dedication to the cause, the many years he's given his service to the Sentinels of the New Dawn—the black eagle born from a sun's disk, the proud badge on his shoulder. The four other members of his team are dressed similarly, but without the metallic glint at their collars denoting his high rank.

"Colonel Vargas, we have a signal. She's moving to the south and west, Sir."

"Excellent. Pack us up, Baker. I want to be on the move in 3 minutes."

"Yes, Sir!" is chorused from the rest of his team as they efficiently pack up the net, and retrieve the listening devices they'd set around the area.

Striding back toward the grey SUV, Colonel Vargas counts today as a success. It would have been nice if they could have caught the alien outright, but the chase is much more fun. Standing beside his door as his team packs them out of the cemetery, he takes a deep breath of the warm summer air. It's a gorgeous early June afternoon with the sun bright, birds singing, and his prey running frightened and alone. He just knew today was going to be a good day. Climbing into the vehicle, he signals his readiness and they take off down North Clark toward West Irving Park, intent on their hunt.

* * *

As a small mouse, the strange girl runs as fast as her tiny legs can take her, dodging between stones and fallen branches. Eventually realising that she isn't being pursued directly, she shifts forms again. Just as she's being eyed by an observant stray cat, who's only thought is what a tasty snack she'd make, he suddenly changes his mind when the mouse becomes a much larger raven, turning a baleful eye in his direction. Squawking her amusement, she ruffles her wings.

Hopping up on a gravestone, and then a tree limb, she can't see the men that had attempted to catch her. She couldn't have lost them that easily.

The last time they played this little game, they'd pursued her for three days before she finally lost them, by hopping a train once she'd decided to shake them. She'd expended a great deal of energy those three days in 1984, trying to figure these guys out. She didn't learn much more than that they were tenacious, they knew what she was, and they  _wanted_  her—none of those traits made her feel safe.

Taking to the wing, she moves off, trying to locate her hunters. Just as she's thinking she's experienced a miracle, she sees the grey SUV below her. Screaming her defiance, she begins looking for somewhere she can hide that they won't find her. Everywhere she turns though, they follow. She backtracks up Ashland, takes a hard right toward the lake but they're always a few blocks behind her. However, they're tracking her has gotten much more sophisticated.

She is starting to tire when she catches sight of Wrigley Field. There must be a game tonight, as the parking lot is already filling and the big lights are lit. Crowds are hard because her eyes give her away as different; but she's child-sized, and the anonymity possible by hiding as a lost kid amidst a crowd of protective adults has worked in the past. She'll just have to get a ball cap.

Turning a bit east, she makes directly for the field. As she's looking for a likely tree to land in, one she can climb out of, she senses a dimensional shift breathing into existence not far from her. She has no idea what could be causing it, but she recognises the feeling. It's similar to— though on a much larger scale—the way in which she hides her excess mass when shifting forms, and she has an instinctual feeling it could be something that can help her.

Falling from the sky, she makes a beeline for the rupture.

* * *

"You really think it's a good idea to leave them on their own, Doctor?" Rose asks as she gathers up the picnic basket and cushions the Doctor told her they'd need for their outing.

"Of course, their safe! They're Donna's family, she knows how to get in touch with us, and she's the one that asked to visit. We said hello, so I don't see why we needed to stick around," he says, moving to the doors to open them for Rose.

"What you really mean is that you wanted away from Sylvia. Two hours was too much, yeah?" Rose smirks at his consternated look. "It's okay, really. She was getting on my nerves, too. One more passive aggressive remark about how we aren't possibly paying Donna enough and I might have shown her the event horizon of a collapsing star somewhere," she says with a grin.

"I think she's actually a Slitheen," the Doctor teases as he pushes the door open and steps out, ready to help Rose with their picnic stuff. Rose's giggle makes his smile even wider. Observing his gorgeously pregnant bondmate in her flirty, brightly patterned sundress ready for an outing makes him want to shout to the world how happy they are. He won't, of course, but if his smile gets any bigger, he's sure his face will split.

Rose understands Donna's need to see a bit of home every now and again. She's the most human of all of them, and the Ood Sphere showed her a side to humanity that she had once innocently hoped her species would grow out of. That violence and selfishness were a symptom of humanity's childhood, not a permanent trait. It was a lesson Rose hadn't enjoyed learning either, but it wasn't one she allowed to change her wonder and regard for humans in the future. Luckily they weren't all like that. Rose just hoped that Donna would make the same assessment. Having Jack and his 51st Century charms with her would help. Rose didn't want to think about losing Donna  _and_  Dougie.

It's these thoughts that Rose is sifting through in the back of her mind as she and the Doctor head out of the TARDIS and into the sunshine of the Doctor's surprise.

Just as the door opens fully, they're both startled by the flapping of huge black wings and the raucous scream of a large bird that arrows its way inside, taking a turn around the console room before disappearing deeper into the TARDIS.

With a small shriek, Rose had dropped the basket and cushions as she ducked to avoid being hit by the frenzied flapping. Helping her to her feet, the Doctor looks off quizzically after the bird's flight, but makes no move to follow it.

"Oi! Are we just going to leave it then?" Rose asks as her hearts finally begin to slow.

"Yep! It isn't the first winged friend I've had in the TARDIS. I'm not worried about it. If it gets to be a nuisance, the TARDIS will let it out of Her own accord. Otherwise, imagine how cool it is. We have our own raven!" he says excitedly. "I should take you to meet Edgar Allen Poe! He can be fun. Well, by fun I mean a bit depressing, and by depressing I mean he's not very fun at all—dead brilliant at storytelling, though. But today, Rose Tyler, it is June 5th, 2014 and we have a baseball game to go see."

Helping her pick up the dropped picnic paraphernalia, they head out of the TARDIS.

"We're in America?" she asks, looking around her at the glimmering brightness of the summer day and the enormous edifice of a ballpark to her right blocking some of the sky from view.

"Yes indeedy! Oh,  _never_  let me say that again," a look of distaste flashing across his features before his usual good spirits return. "We are, in fact, in Chicago at Wrigley Field, and the Cubs are about to play the New York Mets," he states holding up a pair of actual tickets. "It will be a brilliant game. Are you ready for hotdogs with relish and onions? And bags of peanuts tossed at you?"

Grinning at his enthusiasm, she moves away from the TARDIS so he can close the doors. Pulling out his sonic, he places Her out of sync so no one accidentally wanders into Her. With as crowded as it's getting, that could be a real possibility. Picking up their basket, blankets, and cushions, Rose and the Doctor make their way toward the entrance gates, chatting about the many forms baseball has taken over the centuries and on other planets.

Neither of them notices the group of men that come running out of the trees. They fan out combing the area for their prey, but come up empty handed.

"She was right here, Sir, and then nothing. The signal just vanished."

"How can the signal vanish, Baker? I thought that was the point of the nanotechnology. It would stay with her even when she shifted." Vargas' voice is tightly controlled, but his aide swallows nervously before answering.

"Sir, that's true, but the scanner is no longer picking her up. We can track the nano-bots, but they don't have cameras. Until the scanner reads them up again, we have no way to track her."

Growling, Vargas makes a tight circle around his team, almost as if he's trying to smell their quarry. Looking up at the sky and then back down to the ground and out at the crowd that's showing no signs of disturbance, he stops. The square of flattened grass could be anything, but it certainly isn't a clue. Defeat is not a feeling he enjoys and this is the third time she's eluded him. He won't just sit back and let it happen. That isn't his way.

"Bury a sensor here. Return to the grave and bury two more on either end of the cemetery. I would like a five mile blanket with this as the epicentre in the next hour. See it done," he orders. Turning on his heel, he returns to the SUV to report. His team scurries in all directions. They know exactly what he'll be like for the foreseeable future, and none of them want to be in his crosshairs.

* * *

Io finds herself flying deep into the corridors of the miraculous ship she'd located at the dimensional rupture. She'd barely registered the two humanoids she'd swooped past to enter, so desperate was she to escape her pursuers. Finally growing tired of both the exertion and holding her current shape, she finds herself in a high domed room with a wall of windows and filled with books. Coming to rest on the floor, she allows her natural shape to slide back into place.

With another whump of displaced air, Io finds herself lying back on the soft burnt orange carpeting, looking up at an alien sky filled with alien stars. She should really try to figure out where she is, but she's so tired. For some reason she knows she's alone, but protected. Feeling entirely safe for the first time in years, and without even realising it, her eyes drift shut and she's immediately sound asleep.

* * *

Finding herself awake and in an unfamiliar place has Io scrambling awkwardly to her feet, peering around nervously and straining all of her senses to hear or feel the presence of anyone that might mean her harm.

With a tiny yelp, she dives between sofas, crouching behind one when she hears an increase in the all-pervasive humming and a quick flashing of the lights.

The bone deep weariness she feels tells her that she hasn't slept long enough to shift forms again. She'll have to stay hidden. Pressed to the back of the couch for what feels like an eternity, Io slowly gets back to her feet. The ship she's in must have some sort of automatic systems, and they are what startled her.  _Silly girl,_  she tells herself.

She shrugs in silent comment to her own skittishness and moves further into the room. She has never personally been in a spaceship of any kind. She has all of her mother's memories, as any female Leiran would, but they're not the same as actual experience.

Walking to the windows, she leans close, taking in the luminous vista below her. The two suns are shining brightly on the cloud tops that fill her view into the distance—their soft greys and deeper reflected blues soothing to her. Out in the far distance, Io can see the peaks of mountains poking out of the weather. It must be wet below for the thickness of the cloud cover.

Is this where she is? Thinking back over the past day's activities, she can't imagine that she isn't still on Earth. She fell asleep, but it must have only been for a couple of hours. The cycling up of the engines would have woken her, she's sure of it. There aren't any engine noises now, either. Laying herself on the floor, she places a sensitive ear to the carpeting, listening for the hum of idling interstellar generators—nothing. There is the soft hum that seems to be everywhere, but the oscillations are wrong for it to be a propulsion system.

Getting to her feet again with a quizzical expression, she resumes her exploration. There are two staircases that lead up and into an area of book shelves—two-stories of them, in fact. With a deep sigh of contentment, Io wanders through the shelves, brushing the spines lightly with her fingertips.

She's loved books her entire life. Her father taught her to read from her mother's collection. There were manuscripts from the likes of Darwin and Lyell, Melvill and Herschel, but also fictional works by authors like Charlotte Turner Smith and Jane Austen. Io enjoyed the novels, but her loves as a child were the poetry of Burns and Wordsworth.

Growing up in the infant United States her education began with emersion in the French and British authors for everything but political rhetoric. Her father was a stout federalist, and she cut her teeth on the likes of Jefferson and Paine; but as the 19th Century progressed, the US produced more authors capable of holding the interest of her romantic heart, though she was still firmly in love with the later Victorian British Aesthetic Movement and the French and British artists that made art shine like a beacon against the harsh reality of creating a civilised country from the unfriendly American frontier.

By the time of her father's death in 1885, Chicago had completely recovered from the fire that had devastated it only 14 years earlier and would soon host one of the greatest events the world had ever seen, the Columbian Exposition—The World's Fair of 1893.

Shaking her head, Io surfaces from her thoughts of the past as she kicks a book that has fallen to the floor. Fearing that she had somehow caused it to shift, she picks it up gazing at the title and freezes, nearly dropping the book.

**_A Short Tale of How a Lost Leiran Finds Herself in the Doctor and Rose's TARDIS_ **

**_Created by Darling_ **

On the cover is a stylised picture of a blonde woman holding hands with a smiling tall, brown haired man—the people she had flown past earlier, Io now remembers.

Io looks around for how it could have found itself at her feet. Opening it, she sees each chapter is illustrated with a pen and ink drawing very much in the style of E.H. Shepard and his Winnie the Pooh; all delicately watercolored. The first chapter illustration shows her raven entering a blue Police Box of all things, startling the couple who have ducked low to miss her; their wide-eyed expressions making her smile.

Turning the page, she begins reading. The story starts with how she got to where she is in the Library, and how she found the book. The next chapters explain simply about the Ship she's on—the TARDIS (ahh, that's who Darling is)—and Her companions, the Time Lords—Rose and the Doctor. Reading that her unintentional hosts are Time Lords sparks a cascade of race memory that gives her at least an idea about her hosts. She moves to a wall, sliding down it to the floor, taking a moment from her book as she delves into what she knows about them.

Her fore-mothers' memories do not exactly mesh with what the book tells her about Time Lords. She ' _remembers'_  them as stuffy and pretentious, barely respecting the Shadow Proclamation and its rules and statutes as a multi-galactic governing body. Her new book, though, shows little glimpses of the Doctor helping people across Time and Space and his mate Rose ever by his side while they go hand in hand saving civilisations, lost puppies, and the lives of billions as they cruise the Universe.

Feeling marginally less frightened by what might happen when they return and eventually discover their stowaway, she dives back into her reading. Learning that the ship she's on is one of the Time Lord's Sentient Time Capsules. That explains the constant hum, the lack of engines, and the overactive lighting. Feeling a tickle at the back of her mind, she glances up from her place on the floor where she's propped against the wall. Noticing a blinking green light on the floor, it immediately races along, tracing a path around the corner of the shelves she's nearest. Intrigued, she stands to follow it, gripping the book tightly in her hands.

Reaching the end of a row, she sees the line of lights leading toward the back wall of this first level of shelving. Reaching the back corner, there's a staircase leading up. Following it and her light trail, she's led to a door just her size on the very back wall behind shelves filled with books of alien poetry.

Opening the little door, Io peers in and sees a room designed for her directly from her memories of Leira and the houses of her foremothers. Amazed and grateful, she steps into the room. Behind her, the door closes silently and vanishes from sight.


	19. A Guest Unlooked For, but Welcomed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose and the Doctor finally meet their houseguest.

**19 A Guest Unlooked for, but Welcomed**

 

"Doctor, did you finish the milk?" Rose calls out, her head buried in the refrigerator, moving cartons, jars, bottles, and boxes around. The fridge is far from empty, but there's a lot in it that Rose is completely uninterested in.

"No. We just picked more up when we were in Chicago," She hears filter down the hallway from their room. He's still working on his hair, so it will be at least another 10 minutes before it's affixed with the right amount of deliberate disarray.

Grumbling to herself about idjit Time Lords and their propensity for using all the milk when she hasn't had her tea yet, Rose pulls out green tea for the morning. As soon as he gets his spikey-haired arse out here, she's going to make him take her for milk. Hot tea of any variety will keep her momentarily satisfied, but if she doesn't get her proper morning cuppa, he's going to get it.

Turning back to the kettle with the green tea in hand, Rose sees something else out of place—a small plate on the counter. Normally that wouldn't be significant, except that Darling tends to clean up, and this is one of the new Christmas dishes. The ones she'd manifested that the Doctor hasn't seen yet—the ones that should still be hidden.

Setting the tea down and flipping the kettle on, she reaches for the plate, but her hand falls to the empty counter as the Doctor walks in, whistling.

Startled by the now missing plate, Rose looks quickly around the kitchen, seeing nothing out of the ordinary, she turns back to her tea making, brow furrowed, as the Doctor pulls out breakfast ingredients.

 _/Darling, what's going on?/_ Rose asks the TARDIS.

**_~We have a guest, my Wolf, but she is easily frightened and has been hiding.~_ **

Accompanying this revelation are images of the other items left scattered around over the past few days that Rose had thought odd.

_/You've been subtly trying to tell us. Why? Why not just come out and say it?/_

**_~She is very skittish, and I have been hoping it would happen naturally, but she is reluctant to be seen. She plans to escape silently the next time we land. I do not think this is best.~_ **

/ _Why_?/

But Darling has said all that She's going to, only revealing that the Library would be a great place to have their breakfast—proper tea will have to wait.

Okay, the Library it is then. Rose can take a hint. Sighing inwardly, she prepares the scenario.

"Let's eat in the Library today, Doctor. I feel like seeing what Gallifrey's up to," she says, placing a tray at his elbow for him to put out the muffins, bananas, danish, and toast with jam. Planting a quick kiss to his temple at his affirmative hum, she begins gathering the teapot and their cups on another tray, adding an extra cup-just in case.

Following Rose with his tray, the Doctor scans the kitchen and hallways for any other signs of their visitor. He, too, has noticed the marks of habitation left by something more complex than a raven. Not wanting to worry Rose, he hasn't mentioned it, but is keeping a constant vigil in case their guest makes an appearance.

Entering the Library, the windows are brightly lit by the primary star's position in the sky, shafts of dense light piercing the air of the huge room to shine on the shelves and walls opposite. From the corner of his eye, the Doctor notices movement from the second tier as they enter the room, chatting. Whoever's visiting is up there, and they've just been startled by their abrupt appearance. Wondering if Rose has suspected after all, he adopts a nonchalant attitude as he sets up their breakfast on the table nearest the fire.

Sitting down to their tea and toast, the Doctor speaks of nothing important for a few minutes as they both try and decide how to broach the topic of their unlikely guest. Teasing and laughing, they enjoy each other's company, often reaching out to brush a hand along an arm or tuck hair behind ears.

The Doctor is just opening his mouth to finally get to the point when Rose beats him to it.

"Doctor, I think the raven is more than just a bird."

"Oh? What makes you say that?" he asks, attempting to sound like he'd never thought of that.

Swatting him in the shoulder, Rose grins mischievously at him. "You knew! Can't hide from me, you knob. So spill, what's going on?"

Grinning back at her, he answers, "Well, I believe that we have a shape-shifting species on our hands, and it's currently hiding  _somewhere_  in the TARDIS."

 _-But I believe it's in here with us now,-_ he sends Rose telepathically.

 _-I know, Darling sent us here,-_ Rose replies.

 _-Really?-_ He isn't sure he likes the idea of the TARDIS talking to Rose about their guest, but not him. He'd wasted time trying not to worry Rose, and here she is…in the know. He's feeling rather stupid at the moment.

 ** _~Yes, really~_**  The accompanying raspberry from his Ship, causes the Doctor's ears to flush in embarrassment. Rose is still focused on her tea, so hopefully she won't notice and hadn't heard the comment.

"Could it be dangerous, Doctor?" Rose asks the same question she would have asked silently.

"Well, there's a possibility, it could be a Zygon or a Krillitane. You remember those, Rose."

_-Coming down the second landing steps. It's small-_

_-I hear it now, Doctor-_

"I do and they weren't very nice. I don't know what Zygons are though."

"Actually, you do, if you remember the images the Moment showed us. The large orange, sucker-covered humanoids are Zygons."

"Doctor, they're enormous!"

"They are and generally difficult to deal with. I've had the mischance a couple of times in the past, but that's not what we have, Rose."

"Okay, so what do we have, if you're so all knowing?" she teases him.

Turning abruptly and pointing, he cries, "We have…a Leiran! Rose, she's a Leiran!"

* * *

Io was deeply engrossed in a book of Oscar Wilde's works and writings inspired by him from the 42nd Century. She'd always enjoyed Oscar's stories. She would have loved to have met him, but being only 18 when he visited America, her father refused to consent to a trip to see his lecture. Never making it to Europe, Io still regrets that particular lost opportunity.

She's just turned a page in the original version of The Portrait of Dorian Grey, when she hears voices enter the Library, and she scrambles back from the edge of the platform where she'd been enjoying a sunbeam.

Wide-eyed and wild to hide, Io silently makes her way to the wall containing the door to her room—to find it missing. Laying her hands flat against the wall in supplication, she silently begs the TARDIS to restore her refuge. Receiving nothing at all from the Ship, Io chooses to interpret that as a, no. She has been hoping to avoid meeting them altogether, but she should have realised that would be impossible in a sentient ship—especially  _their_  sentient ship.

Creeping to the edge of the second story platform, Io carefully peeks down at them. Not satisfied with what little she can make out from her perch, she moves to the back of the space and creeps down the stairs, sidling through the shelves until she can just make out the Doctor and Rose's words. Pressing herself against the nearest shelf, she watches them joke and tease each other. Obviously in love, they punctuate their light conversation with small touches and smiles.

She remembers love, and she ' _remembers_ ' feeling this way about a partner, though she herself has yet to indulge that side of her nature. She hasn't personally known the love of another since her father died 130 years ago. A moth to a bright flame, unconsciously Io shifts more and more into the light, drawn to the warmth and regard shared by the couple below her.

Hearing them discuss Zygons and Krillitanes, Io remembers those species with mixed feelings of loathing and distaste as she pulls their known histories from her foremothers' knowledge. She doesn't realise how engrossed she is until only a moment before the Doctor turns to point directly at her. Copper eyes going impossibly wide in fear, she's suddenly rooted to the spot, a deer in headlights. With nowhere to run, she's about to consider her other options when she is encompassed in a wave of reassurance from the TARDIS. Feeling herself relax despite her mind screaming to change and hide, she chooses to step boldly to the edge of the short landing.

"We have…a Leiran! Rose, she's a Leiran," the Doctor cries excitedly, pointing rudely up at her.

Looking up and seeing a lovely, curly-haired child, Rose steps between her excited husband and the poor girl, thinking he's overwhelming her with his earnestness.

"Hello, I'm Rose. This over-enthusiastic fellow is the Doctor," Rose says calmly and slowly, like she would to a frightened child. "Have you lost your family? We can help you find them, your mum and dad must be worried."

"Ummm, Rose?" the Doctor says, trying to get his wife's attention. Rose wouldn't know that a Leiran's eyes change to the copper colour at puberty, or that her energy patterns are much too complex for a child.

Gazing at Rose for a moment as if she's too stupid to have actually mastered speech, Io slides her gaze to the Doctor's.

"So, you're the Time Lords?" she asks, holding up the book the TARDIS had given her.

Not appreciating being disregarded, Rose replies, "Yes,  ** _we_**  are. Where did you find that?" The book doesn't look familiar, and Rose is pretty sure she and the Doctor are on the cover.

"I found it on the floor amongst the shelves. I think your ship made it for me," Io answers, holding her temper in check. The girl, Rose, Io reminds herself, is only recently a Time Lord; of course Rose wouldn't recognise that she's definitely not young.

"Ahh, so you know of Time Lords and TARDIS, then?" the Doctor asks.

"Oh, yes, but they kept to themselves. We rarely saw them."

"Would you like to join us for tea and breakfast?" Rose asks, returning to her seat. She hopes that resuming more relaxed positions will coax her down to them, and maybe entice her to be less rude. They can still feel her fright shining at the edge of her thoughts, and Rose feels like she's missing something.

Taking a deep breath, Io decides to be polite. She hasn't had a great deal of interaction that would be considered normal among the Humans. Only venturing out at night, when her eyes are less noticeable, doesn't always lead one to the best places or meeting the best people when one is on the run constantly.

"I would, thank you," she replies to Rose, stepping daintily down the stairs and sitting in the chair across from them at their little table. "I am Io Leira MacDonald." Glad now of the extra cup, Rose pours for her. Io takes a small sip, appreciating the warmth and delicate flavours of the green tea, and smile her thanks to them.

"Io, a moon of Jupiter and a priestess of Hera who got a little busy with Zeus," the Doctor expounds, enjoying the moment to show off a bit. "You flew into our ship rather unexpectedly. I assume you weren't out doing a little joy-flying. I know it takes a lot of energy to shift forms." The Doctor leans back to observe their guest. A Leiran! He hasn't seen one in ages.

"Actually, I was being chased; or more accurately, hunted," she replies succinctly with a grimace.

"Oh? By whom? Are there more of you on Earth?" he asks, sitting up in alarm at her words. If it's Torchwood, Jack will not enjoy the visit!

Io can't help the tears that immediately appear in her large expressive eyes. "I don't know. I've assumed I was the only one for so long. I've never seen another of my kind, and I'll have to reproduce soon; my life cycle is coming to an end."

The emotional reaction to the Doctor's second question completely captures Rose's attention as she leans forward in her chair. Her immediate compassion toward any being in need is one of the Doctor's favourite traits. He continues thinking about who would be hunting a Leiran in one part of his mind while focusing again on Rose and Io.

"How old are you?" Rose asks, the sympathy clear on her face.

"I'm 150 Earth years old," she replies. A small smile plays around her lips as she observes Rose's reaction to the news.

"I am so sorry. I mistook you for a child by your size and looks. And here I was being the rude one, please forgive me," Rose entreats her sincerely.

"No worries. We're good. I use the ruse often when I need to hide. Human adults love to protect kids, so it works out," Io replies, a genuine smile lighting her features for the first time, seemingly as mercurial in mood as the Doctor.

"Why would you need to hide as a child though, Io? Just appear as a human adult and you'd be fine." The confusion on the Doctor's face is very clear to Io and Rose. This new puzzle piece completely derails him from the 'being hunted' train of thought.

"I can't, Doctor. I'm not fully Leiran; my father was a Human," she says, placing her cup down and looking back up at them. Seeing nothing but concern and curiosity on their features, she decides to go for broke. Maybe these two will help her find her people. They're Time Lords; they can go anywhere. Hopefully her kind and her planet still exist.

Deciding to give them her history makes her feel lighter than she has in years. She hasn't been able to share with anyone, and the last sympathetic ear passed with her father. Adjusting her position in the chair, she thinks over the circumstances behind her people being marooned on the only planet she's ever called home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for liking my new character. I dreamed up Io and her story a few months ago. It's nice being able to realise it now and flesh her out. I tinkered with this chapter after my lovely Beta, Ash, was finished with it. Any mistakes are entirely mine. :-) Monday's Chapter: Long Distance Voyager. Thank you for reading and reviewing!


	20. Long Distance Voyager

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor and Rose learn about Io and how her people came to be on Earth. Also, the Doctor pisses Rose off...oops.

**20 Long Distance Voyager**

 

"Okay, so how about I tell how we came to be on Earth for the past 3000 years. That should answer some of your questions," Io states, deciding to start at the very beginning.

Nodding, they settle in, gratified that she's willing to share. The TARDIS kindly provides more toast and tea.

Taking a moment to enjoy a bite of toast and freshen up her tea, Io begins, "Our ship was the Tel'marc. We were on our way to Mars for trade negotiations with the Ice Warriors on behalf of the Shadow Proclamation. On our journey, we had a smaller side mission to catalogue inhabited worlds. Knowing the fourth planet of this system was settled, we took a low orbit around the third for a day, to see what the Humans were up to. Since the majority were still fairly primitive, and what few non-terrestrial inhabitants we could detect weren't messing around, we left them alone to observe the Humans.

"In the 16th hour of our mission, our ship was winged by an incoming asteroid that we'd failed to detect. Crushing our primary coolant flange, we had no choice but to push through the atmosphere and try to make a safe landing. Unfortunately, the asteroid did more damage than we realised. It had also taken out our communications array, and our dorsal stabiliser."

"Oh, no! You were out of control. I am so, so sorry. The landing must have been costly. Obviously some of you survived," the Doctor observes sympathetically.

Tensing in her seat at the Doctor's reminder, Io has to actively stop herself from accessing the fuller memory-the flashing lights, claxons, crashing supports...and the screams. Rill'Tevin, her many times removed Great-Grandmother had survived the crash, but her sister was skewered right beside her by a super-heated rod from the collapsing fuel chamber. Io did  _not_  want to relive any of that this time. She had shed many a tear in her earlier exploration of it all; when she was younger and access to the memories was new. Now, she has much better control.

"Some of us did, fifteen to be exact. We crashed into the Aegean. Greece was at the height of its power. They viewed us as fallen demigods—proof of their Olympus. And whatever we had done to anger the gods and goddesses they would forgive us, if only we bestowed our gifts on them. It's why we always take a Greek name, to help identify ourselves to others of our kind—sort of a tradition.

"The gifts  _they_  thought we had were utterly ridiculous, but we could mate with them-our children, our most precious gift. Unfortunately, there were…complications. It took us several generations to figure them all out. Doctor, you've heard of Leirans before, but I can tell Rose hasn't."

At their nods, she continues, "Well, Leirans are shape-shifters. We can take any shape we want for a time. As the Doctor pointed out, it takes a lot of energy. Less if you're only shifting appearance or into something of a similar mass. Much smaller or larger and the time possible to remain in the shape is also proportionate; the more drastic, the less time and the more energy it takes."

Seeing Rose's confusion, the Doctor moves to explain, "Leirans partially exist multi-dimensionally. That is to say, they can tap into the potential between dimensions to hide their own extra mass when they take forms smaller than themselves, or conversely they can borrow mass to become larger. It's a little like the TARDIS, but they're unaware of the mass that is outside themselves."

"That's it exactly, Doctor! I know it to be true, but I didn't have the words to explain it, thank you," she says with a bright grin. Not being a scientist, she'd never cared about how, only that she could.

"Blimey, that's…so interesting," Rose says. She almost said weird—she'll want to look more into such an intriguing concept later.

"The problem was, we  _could_  mate with the Humans, and we knew we would have to if we wanted to survive long enough to be rescued. There weren't enough of us to keep breeding with ourselves, but Leiran always breed true. A male Leiran and a Human female will only produce male Leirans. The opposite is true for female Leirans. The trouble is, half-human babies are too large for us to carry so we always die in childbirth, leaving our husbands to raise our daughters."

Rose covers her mouth in surprised horror, tears suddenly glistening in her wide eyes.

"Female Leirans also have genetic memories. We females are lucky to be fertile and youthful in appearance our entire lives, so we wait until we reach what would be a normal adult span for a Human before finding a mate. That way we can spend a decade or so with the,, making sure they'll not abandon our daughters when we die. We do explain to our mates the truth of what we are when we've determined their faith in us. It's the only way to insure our children won't be harmed once they reach puberty."

"What happens at puberty?" the Doctor asks, his mind whirling at all the new information.

"We're born looking perfectly Human, as half-breeds; but at puberty our eyes change, and our physiology goes through the shift to Leiran. The irony is that the humanity that remains keeps us from actually being able to live easily among them. Only half-Leiran, we cannot take the shape of other sentient creatures. It's a limitation I have no explanation for, but I can tell you from personal experience that it's painful and exhausting to attempt. I tried really hard to be a dolphin once, when I was younger, and just couldn't manage it. Now, I understand why, of course," Io replies with a wry grin.

"That's how you know your own history so well, you were born with the knowledge," Rose ponders aloud, thinking how that would feel to grow up knowing it all. It reminds her of waking in the Zero room with a head full of Time Lord knowledge.

"Well, yes, but our foremothers' knowledge is part of what comes with puberty. It would be grossly unfair to burden a child with so much history. I remember everything that has happened to my ken and my people for the many millennia since we evolved the ability. It inhabits a portion of the mind that is voluntarily conscious, though, so it does not overwhelm my current experience."

"But you're missing the racial memory of your home Leirans for the past 3000 years, am I right?" the Doctor asks. At her nod, he continues, "So, you have what you learned from your mother and through her line, but you haven't encountered any other females, that's why you think you're alone. Is it passed physically?" Deeply intrigued by the biological research potentials, he doesn't realise his question could appear rude.

At a nudge from Rose, the Doctor snaps out of his thoughts. Seeing the 'you're being rude' face on his wife makes him rewind the past couple of minutes. Blushing adorably at the insensitive and probing nature of his questioning, he apologises, "Io, I'm sorry. I was so caught up in how fascinating your species is that I was rude. Rude and not ginger; that's me!" He brightens the room with his winning smile hoping he hasn't made her mad.

"Geez, relax you two. I've spent the past 150 years living in Chicago, Illinois. Trust me, I know rude and that wasn't it," she replies with a grin. "I don't mind telling you, no reason not to, that I can see. It's passed through antibodies in our saliva. I hope sharing my information and story will help pay for passage to my home world, assuming you know where it is, and don't mind taking me."

"I do know! Not that you would ever have to pay for passage. Blimey, we're not a cruise ship. You need help, and that's what we do…help," he replies happily. "Would you like the TARDIS to scan for more of your people before we leave, though? Might as well rescue all of you if you aren't the last. I understand last, believe me. Let's see who else we can find, shall we?"

Leaping to his feet, he spares a quick kiss for Rose but is out of the library excitedly heading for the Console room before Io can completely process the offer.

"Do you really think he can find more of my people?" she asks Rose hesitantly, fiddling with her teacup nervously. It's been so long since she felt real hope about her future. She's lived a long and resigned life with only her sense of obligation keeping her going. This fresh opportunity is like a whole new page in the book of her life. One shining, clean and empty, just waiting for her to fill it.

"If there are more to find, the TARDIS will do it. She's brilliant. He'll be calling for us in a moment since he forgot to…"

"Roooose? Could you and Io come to the Console Room? I need a DNA sample for the TARDIS to lock onto," he calls out right on time.

Laughing, both women move out of the Library and head toward the Doctor, excited to see where this leads them.

* * *

Flicking his sonic over Io, the Doctor plugs it into a slot on the Console so the TARDIS can extrapolate the readings. It only takes a moment before the monitor is alive with symbols, scrolling numbers, and then abruptly a map.

As Io, Rose, and the Doctor lean in, the TARDIS shows them a cluster of yellow dots all in one location—the middle of nowhere Nebraska.

Leaning back, the Doctor fingers his earlobe a moment thoughtfully. "You said you were being hunted," he says quietly, his expression dark.

Io looks frightened and nods, but is unsure what he wants to know.

"What are we looking at, Doctor?" Rose asks. She moves to put a comforting hand on Io's shoulder rather than read the monitor herself.

"The yellow dots are all the Leirans on the planet…five, Rose. Three thousand years and there are five Leirans left. And they're all right there," he says, pointing at the monitor. "Well, except for Io, here." Staring at the monitor intently for a few moments, the Doctor considers the options.

"Alright, Io, this isn't right, and we're going to fix it; but I need you tell me what or who exactly you were running from and why." The eyes he turns to her are deep, timeless, and filled with an ancient sadness, but also a flickering anger that sends a shiver down her spine.

Nodding, she spreads her hands and gives them a little shrug as she begins, "Doctor, I've been running my entire life. Humans are scared of what they don't understand, and a four and a half foot tall girl with a short blonde afro and huge red-brown eyes strikes them as scary." Giving another shrug, to mask how much she hurts, she glances around the ship a second looking for more words.

"I've been completely alone since my dad died in 1884, other than pets," she grins. "Dogs and cats don't care that you look weird.

"Anyway, as the years advanced, it became less of an issue. At least I could move around more or less unmolested at night. And recently, the Humans have started wearing crazy-coloured contact lenses, so that's allowed me to move through the city more during the daylight, but if I get scared, I change. I can do it voluntarily, but it's also instinctual, and I've been noticed a few times.

"The most consistent pursuit was what your ship saved me from the other day. I've run into them once before, 30 years ago, and it took days to shake them. I have no idea how they tracked me this time, even when I shifted shapes."

At an insistent ding from the console, they turn back to see the monitor alive with Gallifreyan symbols and pictures of something that looks like a beetle.

"Well, that answers that. They dusted you with nanobots." At Io's terrified expression, the Doctor waves his hand around dismissively. "Oh the TARDIS nullified them as soon as you entered her energy field, but I can tell you they are of Earth origin, but definitely not from this time. Do you know who these more determined pursuers are?"

"Not a clue," Io replies. "They drive grey SUVs, but I've only had one up close and personal look at them. They caught me once the last time, and held me in a cell before I slipped their restraints. They didn't realise how small I could get, but it told them all they wanted to know when I moused it out of there. He was maybe 30, tall, grey eyes the colour of dirty snow, and mean! They were all wearing grey uniforms that had some sort of Eagle and sun rays patch on their shoulders."

"Really?" the Doctor asks, his eyebrows high. Fiddling with the monitor a moment, he brings up a picture. At Io's gasp, he knows that he's correct.

"The Sentinels of the New Dawn—nasty lot, they are; but I had no idea they had an American branch. I had a run in with them, as my Third self, ohhhhh...in just a couple of months! Ha, time travel!" he says with a grin at Rose. "Liz and I are pulled into 2014 and have to deal with them. The usual megalomaniacs bent on world domination, I know we get most of them, though there were those clones... Well, they might stay active afterwards, but we take care of the Time Dilation device. That would explain the advanced nano-technology. This group must have received it before they split off or were sent here," he muses as he begins moving rapidly around the Console before stopping abruptly to stare at Rose.

"What?" she asks, brows furrowed.

"I'm about to take us to Nebraska," he says not looking at her, but twisting a knob like his life depends on it.

"Yes…you are. People to save, bad guys to defeat," Rose says, still not understanding what the Doctor's getting at. Abruptly sensing a peek of worry through their link, she crosses her arms and leans obstinately against a strut. " _And_ , Doctor?"

Glancing once at his wife, he scrapes his hands through his hair, tugging painfully. He knows she isn't going to stay behind. He knows she won't  _try_  to stay safe. Sometimes it drives him mad, that she refuses to see how frightened he is of losing her and the baby.

_-Are we going to do this again?-_

_-Rose, I…-_

_-Doctor. Are we going to go over this again?-_

_-Rose! Please, understand…-_

Unfortunately, the timing of this request doesn't work to his benefit. Being almost 5 months pregnant with a highly advanced infant and having all new physiology doesn't always work out so well when all that superiority gets angry. Rose's hormones have already kicked into high gear, making her feel very protective of Io. So, the Doctor's usual attempt to convince her stay behind and be safe is a grenade in the powder magazine.

Rose had thought they'd dealt with this on the Ood Sphere, and that it was settled, but apparently not. A very tiny part of her, hovering somewhere off her left shoulder keeps trying to explain that he cares, that he loves her, and he only wants what's best…please don't get mad—too late.

A usually hidden nasty streak, made worse by the situation and the chemicals raging through her system, raises its ugly head.

Creating the worst possible scenarios that she can think of, she sends the Doctor pictures of himself, captured, tortured, bloody, and dying…shot outright, blown up, smashed by debris—if it can kill him, she sends him an image of it happening. Then she caps her painful and horrifying freak show with images of her, minding her own business in the TARDIS doing things she would never do, like knitting by fire light, making paper chains, and any other innocuous tasks she can think of, but she punctuates them all with her dying terribly alone in a burst of sympathetic energy release, and the TARDIS falling to her own death at the abrupt cessation of her bonded companions.

The Doctor is white knuckled and deathly pale, clutching the console like he may lose his breakfast on it at the intensity of the onslaught. Rose turns on her heel and marches into the interior of the ship without a look at either of the people she's leaving behind.

Poor Io is staring back and forth between her hosts. She can sense something going on with them, but her race isn't telepathic, and for once she's thankful. Her people have plenty of experience with telepathic races though, and she recognises the signs that an intense and very silent communication just occurred.

"Umm, you okay, Doctor?" she asks hesitantly, not wanting to make anything worse. She was willing to trust these people an hour ago; now she's a little worried at that decision.

Sweating and maybe not as steady as he would prefer, the Doctor shuffles to the jump seat and slumps down onto it. Looking up at Io with a pained smile, he nods.

"Ya, I just did something stupid, and my wife reminded me that she isn't a kitten to be wrapped in cotton wool," he says tiredly, running his hands over his face and resting his elbows on his knees, to support his aching head.

"Ahh, you tried to get her stay to behind because she's pregnant; that  _was_  stupid," Io agrees presciently, smirking at him.

Tipping his head up to look at her, the Doctor gets a bit of a wistful glint in his eye, but smiles at her, when he nods his agreement. "Yup, I guess so." She's reminding him a lot of Ace in this moment—so perceptive.

"She's probably huddled in your room, crying her eyes out right now. You should go tell her you were stupid and say nice, safe, loving things to her. She might even forgive you," Io tells him, placing her little hands to her hips.

"Really? I was thinking I'd be the last person she wants to see at the moment," he replies dubiously.

"Seriously? You know she was human once, right?"

"I do, yes, but how do you know that?"

"The book the TARDIS made me is sort of a fairytale about you two, and She thinks that's the most romantic part—when the Sphynx makes her a Time Lord to save you from spending eternity alone. Personally, I found it a bit trite and thought She'd made it up, but I can smell the humanity on Rose, spicing the scent of time and pregnancy."

The Doctor gazes at Io like she's the most amazing thing he's ever seen. Suddenly feeling embarrassed, she ducks her head and shuffles her feet a bit, uncomfortable with his regard.

"Spending time as animals has some perks, you know," she explains, thinking that's why he's looking at her so intensely.

"Of course it does…sorry…I was staring. I'd like to see this book some time. You just pointed out why I've been such an unmitigated prat and you've only known us a couple of hours. I sometimes forget that Rose is still essentially human." Shaking his head ruefully, he stares at his hands while he's thinking.

"Sure, but don't make the mistake of thinking that that makes her stupid. She isn't. She knows she's carrying a baby. She isn't  _trying_  to put herself in harm's way, just to be obtuse. She  _knows_  you're better as a team. And I'm guessing that you're not used to thinking that way. Am I right?" Io asks, smirking.

Sighing, he runs his hands through his hair, mussing it to new heights. "Right, I'll go talk to her." Getting to his feet, the Doctor moves toward the hallway. Stopping, his hand on the rail, he turns to look at Io with a small lopsided smile. "Thanks, Io. The TARDIS will have moved your room to the hall now that we've met properly." Pausing a moment to give her a raised eyebrow and a more normal smirk, he continues, "And you can quit sneaking around the Kitchen. If you're hungry, tuck in." With a little wave, he continues down the hall toward his room.

Io watches him go, silently wishing him luck, and wondering where her room might be now. It will be fun exploring the TARDIS without having to dodge its inhabitants.

A little green light flicks into existence in the floor and races down the other hallway. With a grin and feeling a bit like one of her cats, Io chases after it, assuming it will lead her back to her room's new position.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Monday! :-) I hope you enjoyed learning a bit more about Io and her people. Someday, maybe, the Doctor won't stick his foot in his mouth. The next chapter is the fluffy apology, and then bold steps toward action. Wednesday's chapter: Talking Out of Turn.
> 
> Many thanks to my beta Ashlanielle. I did fiddle with this chapter after her hard work, so any extra commas are all me. :-)


	21. Talking Out of Turn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose and the Doctor come to an understanding, and we meet someone new.

**21 Talking Out of Turn**

 

Lost in his thoughts, the Doctor walks along the hallway to their room. He's made several laps around the table in the kitchen before he realises how distracted he truly is. Smiling a bit wanly, he pushes affection toward his ship for leading him here. An apology cuppa is always a good plan—plus, Rose may be less likely to smack him if he's holding two cups of hot tea.

Humming tunelessly to himself, the Doctor goes through the familiar little ritual of making his wife tea. Thinking on the domesticity of his actions, another more genuine little smile flirts around the edges of his mouth. In his head he can hear his own past Northern-accented voice grumbling about how docile he's become, which is at odds with how contented he actually feels. Well, except for the fact that he's neck deep in an argument with the target of his domestic attentions.

Reaching into the refrigerator, the Doctor pulls out a brand new carton of milk to add to the tea. He's halfway to returning it, when he realises what he has in his hands. Gazing at the carton, he reaches for the TARDIS with his mind.

_/I thought we were out of milk. Wasn't Rose looking… Oh, you clever girl!/_

The TARDIS hums at him distractedly, but refuses to acknowledge him further. Smirking at his magnificent and very meddling ship, he finishes his business with the tea, picking up the cups and continuing to their room.

Making it this time, the Doctor nudges the door open with his hip, looking around the space for Rose. Quietly, he walks around the small suite of rooms that has emerged through the time he and Rose have been reunited. Not merely a bedroom any longer, there's also a sitting room, another small and very private library, his study, and her workroom. Finding all of them empty, he ends up back in their bedroom, wearing a slightly confused expression and two still steaming cups of tea in hand.

That's when he notices the lump in the bed and the tuft of blonde hair poking above the covers. An understanding, though slightly sad smile touches his lips. Making his way to his side of the bed, the Doctor sets the cups down and pulls the covers aside to join Rose.

He isn't at all tired, having slept just last night, but then,  _he_  isn't pregnant. The amusing and vaguely ridiculous line of thought that follows is interrupted by Rose rolling over in her sleep, a worried expression creasing her brow. Wrapping himself around his unresisting wife, the Doctor pulls Rose into his arms and rests his chin against the crown of her head. Rose relaxes against him, snuggling close.  _Well, at least she isn't cross with me in her sleep,_  he thinks, smiling against her hair.

Thinking over the nearly two years that have passed, the Doctor reminds himself of all they've come through together. It's been a whirlwind for him; but for Rose, the struggles, adventures, and sheer level of metamorphosis has been extraordinary. He needs to remember to be more patient with her. Pondering his wife, the Doctor holds her close to himself, feeling her dream, but lost to his own musings.

* * *

_"Here, sweetheart, I made you a proper fry-up. Look at you. How you ever do all that runnin' 's beyond me, skinny you are. Doesn't Himself ever feed you?"_

_Blinking her eyes open, Rose finds herself looking at the ceiling of her old bedroom at the Estate. Wow, was it really_ **_that_ ** _pink? Turning her head against her pillow, she observes her mum laying out a tray next to the bed heaped with food, all steaming and gorgeous. Her eyes cause her belly to growl; the smell though, makes her a little nauseous._

_"Mum?"_

_"Well, who else, the Queen? Might be friends with Harriet Jones, you are, but it's jus' your 'ol mum today," the figure replies with her own brusque good humour, looking at her daughter with deep eyes. Eyes filled with too much understanding and a sadness that twinges at Rose's heart—no…hearts!_

_"Mum! I…this must be a dream," Rose says, sitting up quickly in bed, the covers falling to her lap as the room swims in a moment of vertigo. Clutching at the pillows around her, Rose waits for the room to settle. "I'm dreaming. Mum…why…why am I crying?" Rose asks puzzled, putting a hand to her cheek where she'd felt the tears gathering. Looking at the fresh moisture on her fingers, she presses the other hand between her breasts, feeling both hearts beating strongly. Looking back up at her mum in confusion, Rose can see tears gathered in her eyes as well._

_"Oh, Rose, sweetheart. He told me everything. The Doctor, he…"_

* * *

"Rose. Rose, wake up. You're dreaming, luv."

Starting awake, Rose finds herself in the Doctor's lap—her head against his chest, fists clinched in his shirt, silent tears staining the fabric.

"Doctor? Why am I crying?" Rose asks again, disoriented as the dream begins to fade.

"You said that in your sleep, Rose. I've no idea, but I started trying to wake you since it didn't seem like a very pleasant dream," the Doctor replies, worry etching his brow.

"My mum was there. She'd made me breakfast. She looked…so sad, or…something. She said you told her." Rose passes a hand across her forehead, pulling hair out of her eyes, and sits up in the Doctor's lap, a hand still pressed to his chest between his own hearts.

"What did I tell her?"

"I don't know. I think she said 'everything,' whatever that means. It's fading already. God, my room was soooo pink. The food looked great, but the smell made me feel sick; I remember that. Oh, and I was me." The wide-eyed expression on her face has the Doctor confused now.

"Ummm…and who else would you be in your own dream, Rose?"

"No, I mean this me, the new me, Time Lady me. I had two hearts in the dream. I felt them," Rose answers, trying to remember more. But either way, she'd never had two hearts around her mum; she would have flipped!

"That might have been me. You started to move around like you weren't happy so I shifted us about. You probably heard my hearts in your dream."

"Yeah…maybe…yeah, you're probably right. I was so sad, Doctor," Rose says distantly, almost too softly for him to hear.

"I know, Rose. I'm so, so sorry that you had to leave them behind. I know you miss them," he says, pulling her close in a hug.

Hugging him back and hearing the reassuring sounds of his hearts pushes the dream even further away. Now, the memories from before she decided to take a little kip all coming flooding back.

Feeling her stiffen in his arms, the Doctor, too, knows that the argument has caught back up with them. "Rose, I…"

"No, Doctor, let me. I'm the one who needs to apologise; I'm sorry. It was wrong of me to blast you like that with all those horrible images. I got so mad, so fast. I felt like I wasn't in control anymore, and I could hear myself telling me to shut up, but I couldn't…I just couldn't." The words tumble from Rose, tripping over themselves to get out of her coherently.

"Doctor, do you have any idea what it would do to me, in my own last seconds, to know that you'd died alone? I'm so afraid, all the time. There's so much going on, so fast; Dougie leaving, me pregnant…Whatever crazy song ending crap that was with the Ood…  _-sob-_ God, the baby! He could maybe live without us after he's born, but not yet.  _-sob-_ Doctor, I'm lost. All I have is you and the TARDIS.  _-sob-_  Please….  _-sob- …Please_  don't leave me alone again!"

The pleading and uncontrollable tears completely break the Doctor's hearts. Rose is always so strong—the one who holds them all together. She's radiating nearly overwhelming terror, and it's his fault for not realising how fragile she'd been feeling. Once this business with Io is fixed, he'll find them a leisure planet to spend a couple of weeks on with Donna and Jack. Maybe he should find them somewhere to stay for the rest of Rose's term—Earth would be the obvious choice…maybe. Shifting those thoughts to the 'work on later' part of his mind, the Doctor focuses on Rose's need in the moment.

Wrapping himself around her physically and coiling their energies together, the Doctor rocks her in his arms, whispering to her in Gallifreyan anything that comes to mind, but mostly reassuring her that they'll be fine. Reassurances of every kind, anything to bring her back to herself. Soon, the worst of the emotional storm has passed. Rose lays quiet against him and his thoroughly soaked shirt; small hiccups every now and then all that remain of the outburst.

Sliding them to the edge of the bed, the Doctor sends a thought and a request to the TARDIS. Receiving an affirmative, he repositions Rose and gets to his feet, lifting her effortlessly.

Carrying his wife into the en suite, he walks them directly into the rapidly filling bath tub, clothes and all. A hot soak is exactly what they need.

Rose protests weakly that they're still dressed. The Doctor just grins at her as he sets her gently on the edge of the tub and gently undresses her, dropping her tank and shorts to the floor. Seeing her naked, pregnant, and glowing slightly in the steam, sends a spasm of desire spiking through him. Blushing at his response, he straightens and begins undressing himself, turning away slightly so Rose won't see his face, and hopefully won't notice the hormone release. His jumped up sexual responses are the last thing she needs at the moment. This bath is for her, not his randy self.

Instead of sliding into the water as he thought she would, Rose stands, placing her hands over his, stilling them in their attempts to loosen his tie. Turning him toward her, Rose places a small hand under his chin silently asking him to look at her. Blushing again, he opens his eyes and nearly falls down at the depth of emotion in hers. Need, love, fear, desire …all there, shining and vulnerable. And now he perceives the release of her own hormones—the same ones that had momentarily embarrassed him earlier. With four busy hands, it takes very little time to litter the room with the remaining articles of clothing.

The beginning of their lovemaking is silent, punctuated only by breathing and small groans or sighs, but it doesn't take long before their usual joking good humour takes over. The warm, wet air filled with laughter and satisfied shouts of cathartic release.

An hour or so later, the floor is well and truly wet, the bath nearly emptied and then refilled. The two lazy Time Lords are currently draped over one another enjoying the hot water, now slightly lavender scented. The Doctor is making fantastic sculptures in the water with Rose's hair—or he's trying to anyway.

Smiling at his child-like delight in something so simple, Rose is struck once again by how mean she'd been to him earlier. "Doctor, I…"

"No, Rose, no more apologising. Someone's always going on that I should stop blaming myself for everything. It's good advice; you should heed it, too." The twinkle in the eye that he flashes at her before returning to his underwater antics belies the mock seriousness of his tone.

"Cheeky!" Rose exclaims, flicking some water at him with her fingers where she's idly stroking her hands through the hair along one of his legs.

Not able to entirely shake the melancholy, Rose continues musing, "Sometimes I feel so overwhelmed. Like I'm responsible for every living thing and they don't know or care that I feel that way."

Looking up from his game, he allows himself to see that Rose's normally sparkling gold energy is darker, made sluggish by the depressing direction of her thoughts. Wondering if he should add some more B vitamins to her daily, the Doctor responds to her musings.

"I know exactly what you mean, but…," sighing, he begins again, "Oh, Rose, you're  _so_  human, even after everything that you've been through. You're amazing." He underscores his words with his own feelings of regard and wonder for her, hoping it will help to pull her from this mood.

"Am I, really…so human?" The sad, lost look on her face worries the Doctor, who pulls her close again, desperate for her to not feel so alone.

"Yes! And don't ever feel like that's a bad thing Rose Tyler, even after everything that's happened. Your compassionate humanity is what makes you so…well, so human. You see the entire Universe through that filter, and that makes it a much better place. Humans try so hard to figure everything out, how it all works. They just  _need_  to know,  _need_  to understand, and that's you, Rose. You see the best in people, no matter their kind, and you want to understand them. Rose, you are…"

At this moment, their son awakens and reaches out with his own energy looking for his mother. Sensing his father near also delights the littlest Time Lord. Shooting out little thought spikes of awareness, tinged with a little worry for his mum and happiness at everything around him, his parent's minds buzz with his happy mental babble.

Feeling the innocent depth of their son's love and joy finally breaks the depressing bubble that was weighing on Rose. A sun bursting through clouds after the hurricane has passed, her energy immediately lightens, and her smile brightens the room. The Doctor's sense of relief and mirrored happiness has them laughing delightedly as they play with their unborn child, mentally hugging and reassuring him that it's a good day, and all is well.

* * *

During their bath, the Doctor was struck by an idea. He's no clue why he hadn't thought of it before, but for whatever reason, now is the perfect time. Once they're dressed, he grabs Rose's hand. Leaning in to whisper in her ear, she giggles at him, and shrieks delightedly as he pulls her out of their room and heads down the hall.

"Run? Easy for you to say. You're not attached to a beach ball that weighs a few kilos," she says, laughing their way down the hall to the Console room and beyond to the Infirmary.

Groaning, she pulls him to a stop as they enter the room. "Doctorrrrr…what now?"

"Oh, no, Rose! This is going to be great. You're going to love it. Can't believe we didn't do this before. Just stand here," he says, positioning her on a disk mounted in the floor that she'd never noticed before. Moving to a set of controls on the wall, he begins fiddling with them as he explains what's going to happen. "It will turn you around once, but just stand there; you don't have to be perfectly still or anything. There'll be a bit of blue light…."

"Oi! It tickles! Doctor, what are you…"

"Just…a…second, annnnnnd, voila!"

A few meters in front of them a shaft of blue-tinged radiance bursts into existence as the lights in the Infirmary dim. Suspended in its centre…is their baby in 3D black and white perfection, slowly rotating. He's playing with his fingers, flexing them, and sticking them in his mouth. Rose stands in a daze, mouth slightly open, and gawking in wonder at the apparition before her. Unconsciously moving forward, the image wavers crazily.

"Stay on the disk! Sorry, Rose, but for the image to be real-time you have to stay there," the Doctor says, looking to his wife and seeing her nod distractedly before his own eyes are pulled back to the image of their son.

"Doctor, is it like an ultrasound?" Rose asks, awed.

"Welllll, yes…no, not at all really, but I guess considering what you've experienced…yes, if it makes you feel better," he says, still focused in the revolving image.

Picking up the first thing she can reach, Rose flings a bar of soap at him, winging it off his shoulder.

"Oi! What was…" Seeing the look on his wife's face, he realises what he'd said. "Oh, that was a bit rude, sorry. It doesn't use sound waves at all. It's actually reading the location of all your atoms through the use of quantum streams, but it takes a lot of energy; and for the time signature of your atoms and this image to align, you have to stay on the emitter."

"Doctor, that's our son," Rose says in quiet awe.

"Yes, yes it is," he replies proudly. "He's not really that big yet. The translation matrix scales the image to the maximum allowed by the size of the beam emitter."

"Shut up, Doctor," Rose says quietly, fixated on the image of their son.

Grinning in delight at the success of his surprise, the Doctor turns to focus his attention on their child, as well.

The boy in question stretches his legs as best he can, and Rose lets out a little squeak, moving her hands to her belly as she feels what she can see happening in front of her. Reaching out a blind hand to him, she beckons the Doctor to her side. Taking his hand, she places it on her belly as they watch the movement they now both feel. Struck by the moment's poignancy, the Doctor is at a complete loss for words. Reaching for his wife and son with his mind, he wraps them both in his love for them. A contented little smile blossoms on their son's face, and he snuggles in, yawning, and promptly falls asleep.

"Have you thought about any names?" Rose asks quietly, watching the sleeping baby, her hands still on her belly.

"Uh…no, I haven't…should we? There's still another 6 months to go. I guess I never thought about it. Never thought I would ever think about it again, really. Baby names, blimey!" Glancing over at her husband's profile and grinning, Rose can see his eyes never leave their son, but his eyebrows are high as he's affected by the thought of naming their child.

"Gallifreyans were kind of weird with the way they named things, Rose."

"Oh, I know, ridiculous, you lot are. I have no idea why you were called Theta, all the references I find are mathematical or odd. I assumed your mum was having a joke on your father liking the Greek myths. And the name you were given at the Schism is filled with overlapping and contradictory symbology…and then there's Lungbarrow." The Doctor can hear her roll her eyes at his House's name. That's fine, he'd never liked it either. "I was hoping you wouldn't mind something more… Well, more…"

"More human?" The Doctor supplies with a grin, turning to look her in the eyes. "Not at all, Rose Tyler. You may name our son anything you wish. Oh! How about Alonso? Allons-y Alonso! I've always wanted to say that. Well, by always, I mean from now on…always. What do you think, Rose—Alonso Tyler?"

"Errrmm, well, I was actually thinking of the names we might like together, so I've a short list, and we can pick two or three, but no; not Alonso."

"Ohhhh, alright, so what were you thinking?" His obvious disappointment is adorable, but gone in a second as his curiosity reasserts itself

"My list is Peter and Michael or Mickey, of course. Maybe Jack, but he doesn't need a fatter head." Those were the easy ones, names from  _her_  past that she'd obviously pick. The next two, Rose wasn't sure how he'd react to them. "And also, Jamie and Alistair."

The look of profound surprise at her choices does nothing to immediately reassure her, but the wave of delight and affection that caresses her mind alleviates any worry.

"Rose, I…I don't know what to say…."

"Wow! That is so cool!" they hear from across the room. Startled, they turn to see Io standing just within the doorway of the Infirmary.

"Sorry, I heard your voices, so I came to see what's up. That's your baby, he's beautiful! Is that a quantum imager, Doctor? This is off the charts, great ship by the way. She led me all over the place. Awesome, pool room; boy, this place is huge. I had no idea that dimensional transcendentalism meant She also had the possibility of infinite spaces. Are they laid out in spherical layers or as separate bubbles all riding the central core?"

Finally looking at her hosts, Io finds them regarding her like she's grown stalks for eyes—she almost checks. Blushing in embarrassment, she realises that she'd been blithering on without hardly stopping for breath, let alone allowing anyone to get a word in edgewise.

"Sorry, I just got excited. I'm out of practise with the whole company thing," she apologises, ducking her head and shuffling her feet.

Bursting into laughter, Rose clutches her sides and wipes tears from her eyes. "Oh, Io, you have nothing to apologise for," Rose tells her.

The Doctor steps back from Rose with a smile, and begins switching the equipment off, bringing the lights back up.

"It's just not often that someone else can fill so little space with so many words!" Rose says, eyes twinkling.

"Oi! I can hear you two," the Doctor retorts, but without heat. He'd found Io's stream of conscious queries and statements perfectly understandable. He probably won't mention that, though, as it would just illustrate Rose's point. Grinning, he turns back to Io to answer a couple of the previously voiced questions.

"It is, in fact, a quantum imager. Would you like to see more of it? This one is several generations ahead of the last ones you would have seen. And the TARDIS creates Her spaces as layered spheres that also can contain bubbles of additional spaces. I assume, this is racial memory, as opposed to applied knowledge?" he asks, looking particularly professorial.

"Oh, ya. While my education is unusually thorough for a 19th Century Human girl, it doesn't include quantum physics or the quirks of dimensional transference. Though my own species, as you mentioned earlier, uses the multiple small bubble method to store our excess energy or to acquire more. But, that's as far as my personal knowledge extends. I am not an engineer. I prefer literature to almost every form of anything mathematical." Sticking her tongue out, Io makes a sour face, saying, "Math, ew!"

"Well, I was about to suggest that you two could tear apart the imager on your own, because I'm starving. How about lunch, and we can figure out a plan to deal with these Sentinels of the New Dawn?" Rose suggests.

"Humans, ruled by your stomachs, you lot!" the Doctor says, grinning. Rose and Io are both about to reply hotly, when his own stomach betrays him, its grumble heard throughout the room.

"Humans, eh? Seems more like a living creature problem to me, Doctor. And  _you_ are definitely living. Come along, man-critter of mine. Let's make our guest lunch like proper hosts." Holding out her hand for him, Rose sees the eye roll and only grins at her absurdly handsome and consummately incorrigible husband, wiggling her fingers until he takes her hand. Pulling her close to his side, he kisses her head. Laughing, they head out of the Infirmary and toward the Kitchen.

Io follows after them, shaking her head at their antics. They're so cute it makes her want to puke!  _Nah,_ she thinks…smiling to herself.


	22. Time is on My Side

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What has happened to the Leirans on Earth? It's time to find out.

**22 Time is on My Side**

 

Everyone returns to the Console room after lunch in much better spirits. They had focused on Io's exploration of the TARDIS as the safest topic to discuss while eating.

It seemed the TARDIS likes Io quite a bit, because She had lead her quite the merry chase through the corridors, showing her the sports areas, more than one swimming pool, surprisingly, a weight room, and the Butterfly room—which earned the Doctor a swat from Rose for not taking her yet, and any number of various store rooms all stuffed to capacity with…things—trinkets, knick-knacks, assorted mementos from past trips that even the Doctor wasn't sure why he kept. Io wasn't certain why the TARDIS showed them to her, but she'd been fascinated all the same.

The Doctor immediately moves to the monitor and begins typing furiously into the keyboards as Rose takes them out of the Vortex and places them in orbit around the Earth.

"I'll need to hop around a bit over the past few months. I want to see if there's any change to the number of Leirans the Sentinels have. If you can remember anything else, Io, let us know, "The Doctor tells her as he flicks a lever and the TARDIS begins shaking. She dematerialises in space to rematerialise in the same location above the planet, but eight months previously as the shaking stops.

"Sure thing; but like I said, I only ever saw them that one other time. It was the same place, though; when I was trying to visit my parent's graves."

"Hmmm…strange. Was that day an anniversary this time?" Rose asks her.

"No. In a month it would have been, but I was specifically avoiding the anniversary dates for just this reason," she tells them with a shake of her head.

"And how long were you there before they tried to capture you?" the Doctor asks as the first readings from the TARDIS scans come in. There are more yellow dots.

"Maybe an hour; I lost track of time…," she trails off, a faraway look to her face.

"I can understand that. You've been without them for a long time. You probably had heaps of stuff to share with them," Rose says sympathetically.

Nodding, Io pushes the sadness away, looking around the Console room to keep herself distracted. The warm golden tones of the coral structures seem light and happy enough, but Io thinks it looks a little tired and worn, too. The surface of the Console itself cracked and repaired many times. Some of the instruments were obviously fixed with odd bits that must have been just lying around, and the floors—industrial grating; easily replaceable. All in all, while homey in a way that she thinks is more about the ship being alive than anything else, Io doesn't feel the interior suits Her occupants at all.

Startling her, Io receives a little nudge of agreement from the TARDIS, which is followed by what Io can only call a sigh tinged by sadness. So, the TARDIS thinks it's time for a change, too…interesting. Shrugging to herself, Io continues watching the Time Lords as they move around the console, finishing each other's sentences until they continue in a language Io doesn't know, and begin looking very serious.

The shaking and pausing of the TARDIS' movement happens a few more times; obviously traveling through the months, before the Doctor straightens, running his hands through his hair and stuffing them in his pockets. Walking around to Rose's side of the console, he looks at a few more instruments before returning to the monitor again, followed by Rose, their expressions grim.

"What is it, guys? I can tell you're not happy no matter what language you're using," Io states boldly.

Looking over to her sadly, Rose comes and sits next to her on the jumpseat. "We made nine jumps in the past eight months to see if there was any change to the number of Leirans on the planet…and there were," Rose tells Io.

"What?" Io cries out, leaping to her feet. "What kind of changes? Oh, less…there are less of us aren't there?" she asks in sudden understanding.

Turning his back to the console and leaning against it, the Doctor takes a deep breath before replying. "Yes. Eight months ago there were seven of you, with you still outside Nebraska, so I didn't count you in the number. Then, six months ago there were eight, five months ago seven, four months ago there are eight again, three months ago seven, and two months ago there are five. It has stayed at five, so with you that makes six Leirans in total right now on the planet."

"But I don't understand. How can the numbers keep fluctuating, and why so few now?" Io asks, her brow furrowed, but the dawning horror of potential realisation hovers in her eyes.

"Births," the Doctor says simply, but with crushing sadness. Looking at him, Io sees his eyes, normally a warm chocolate, are now a cold, glittering brown, diamond hard and dark with suppressed anger.

Gasping, Io turns to see tears standing in Rose's eyes at the implication of the dead mothers, new Leiran babies, but then two more deaths…the babies? The horror turns to ice around Io's heart. Whoever these people are, they must be stopped.

"We will get your people out of there, Io—every last one of them. I don't care what the Sentinels are doing; this will end. I'm going to set us down at night as close to the Leirans as I can. Luckily, the Sentinels are using an older building, so the TARDIS has schematics, but they appear to have added in newer sub-basements. You both might want to change. I'm not sure what's coming, but dress for running; that's always a given," he finishes with a tight smile that doesn't reach his eyes.

Going to his side, Rose takes his hand. The Doctor leans down, resting his forehead to hers momentarily before nodding, giving her a quick kiss, and turning back to the console.

Rose walks back to Io, holding out her hand. Taking it, Io doesn't think about being 125 years older than Rose. All she feels is the comfort in knowing she isn't alone in this quest as the two woman head down the hall toward their rooms. It's time to get ready for what promises to be a long, eventful night.

* * *

Deep within an abandoned missile silo in the heart of Nebraska, the TARDIS breathes into existence. From the outside, one of the doors opens slowly, barely showing a glimpse of the darkened interior. Out of the door cautiously steps the Doctor who pauses a moment, feeling out with his senses looking for others in the area. Finding nothing, he opens the door further, gesturing for Rose and Io to join him. Exiting the TARDIS, both girls are dressed in Rose's version of Torchwood's mission fatigues—black, covered in pockets, light all-terrain boots, and a willingness to misbehave.

Rose also has a stunner strapped to her thigh. It took her awhile to persuade the Doctor to make it for her, but once she drew up the schematics, and he realised she'd build it herself if he continued being a prat, he agreed to help her; as long as there was no possibility it was lethal. She'd rolled her eyes at him at the time, but she understood. That's why she'd carried it in the first place, it  _was_  non-lethal. She and Pete had changed all the Torchwood agents over to the stunners as the standard issue sidearm by the time she left. Rose hoped that stuck after she was gone.

Io finds nothing unusual with her heightened senses. The place has rats, but what underground facility didn't. All she can smell, other than rodent, is engine grease and electricity. There's another scent beneath everything that she can't place, but she decides to not worry about it at the moment.

Synchronously moving to either side of the open doorway across from the TARDIS, Rose pulls her stunner and nods to Io, gesturing with her head to keep close and behind them. That's fine by her. She'll fight if she has to, when cornered, but her instincts are geared more toward flight. They locked the TARDIS as they were leaving, but both the Doctor and Rose assured Io that if something happened and she changed, to get back to the TARDIS—She'd let Io in, no worries. Io believed them but continued praying that nothing would happen; that this whole little mission would go without a hitch.

In a series of cautious movements, the Doctor and Rose lead them through the tunnels and down several flights of stairs past rusty supports, dripping walls, and empty rooms. The whole place is barely lit, only every third bulb alight in the seemingly endless corridors. Periodically, the Doctor would pull out his sonic, wave it around briefly, then, look at it closely. Sometimes this changed their direction a little, but mostly they headed down.

Io doesn't realise that this careful advance is not the Doctor's usual method. She doesn't know that he would normally waltz in, do his best to talk his way into getting what he wanted, and then, either leaving in triumph—mission accomplished—or running for his life back to the TARDIS, living charges hopefully in tow, with explosions and clean up left behind.

In discussing their options as they'd been flitting back through the months looking for Leiran clues, the Doctor decided that Rose's approach would be safer, and while more time consuming, it would also be more likely to guarantee their safety and the safety of the captured Leirans. Not his style, but neither was dying. He had plans after this, and once the lunatics were taken care of, leisure planet here they come. Maybe they would invite Io to join them.

The inkling of an upcoming vacation is nowhere near the surface of the Doctor's thoughts currently. They've nearly reached their goal, according to the TARDIS' interface with his sonic, but he doesn't like it. This is too easy. This sort of escapade is never this easy, no matter how much he sometimes wishes they would be.

 _-This is too easy-_  Rose sends him.

 _-I was just thinking that. I don't like how far from the TARDIS we are-_  he replies.

_-Nope. Do you feel like something's about to happen, Doctor?-_

_-A sense of impending doom? Oh, yeah, since we stepped out of the TARDIS-_

_-Hmmmm…impending doom…my favourite-_  Rose replies sarcastically.

She's about to continue in that vein when she thinks she hears voices ahead. Hand up, she stops the three of them, gesturing back to the side passage they just passed. Turning, they scramble back to the dark opening. Scanning it quickly as they enter, Rose can just make out that it's a small room, the open doorway its only entrance. Grimacing at being trapped, she and the Doctor flank the opening, Rose gently gesturing for Io to get behind her. Silently padding to the corner nearest, Io squats down, poised to run if necessary. Nodding her readiness, Rose turns back to keep an ear to the door.

 _-Should we risk it with the perception filters?-_  Rose asks, fingering the device around her thumb.

 _-I have no idea how sophisticated their tech is. The bio-dampener I added to them is well beyond anything they could have. That will fool any passive scans, we'll show up as rats, but you know how the perception filters work as well as I do-_  he answers her, the doubt caused by not knowing enough about their surroundings tinging his reply.

_-Yeah, I know. I wish your sonic had a silent mode-_

_-Wouldn't be a sonic if it did-_  he replies cheekily.

Sticking her tongue out at him, Rose reaches as far as she can with her Time Lord senses, searching for the voices. Were they moving? If so, in their direction? Were they the prisoners or guards? Not finding anything useful, Rose sighs quietly in frustration. Looking at the Doctor, she shrugs. Mirroring her shrug, he gestures with his head that they should just risk it. Nodding, Rose reaches behind her for Io. Feeling the little hand touch hers briefly, she feels Io stand, ready to move. Stunner up, Rose leads them quickly out the door, and further down the corridor toward the opening that she'd heard the voices through.

Soundlessly, they reach the opening, but it's one of the few with a light directly above it; careful to not let a shadow fall through the doorway, the Doctor reaches up on tiptoe, just touching the bulb with his sonic. With a quick tap of the button, it flickers out. The whispery sounds of muted conversation continue from down the hallway to their left, unconcerned with the light going out—interesting.

Leaning slightly through the door, Rose and then the Doctor quickly scan the next corridor in each direction.

 _-Clear-_  the Doctor says of the passage to their right.

_-Clear, but I see a flickering light, down and on the right. I think it might be a telly-_

_-That would explain why it didn't change. It isn't really conversation…well, between_ **_real_ ** _people, well, living, right here right now people…oi! you know what I mean, and it will help mask our approach-_

_-Yup, it will for them, too; I don't like it-_  Rose states in reply. Her sense of wrongness is battering at her to get out now, fast as possible. Unwilling to leave the Leirans to any more of what the Doctor and she theorised as their continued fates, Rose refuses to give in. Turning briefly to glance at Io, she smiles as reassuringly as possible. Receiving a quick answering nod, Rose looks at the Doctor.

Winking at her, he takes point this time, sonic in hand, ready to short out an energy weapon or jam a projectile based one. He'd preset those key settings before they left the TARDIS so he wouldn't have to search for them later. Flattening himself against the wall opposite the opening, he scans the way they aren't taking first. Seeing no movement and not picking up anything strange, he nods to Rose and scans the direction in which they're heading.

Coming through the door, she immediately turns left and moves stealthily toward the flickering light and the increasing volume of what is definitely a television. It's tech, so that will be the Doctor's problem, hers is keeping them alive and alert to hostiles.

The room with the TV has a large glass window about chest height. Beyond it the door is open. The bulb above this observation area is out, so that's one plus. Crouching down, Rose scoots under the window to the edge of the doorway. Pulling out a small mirror on a rod, she slides it out just passed the edge of the casing—the room is empty. The only thing in it, a television on the floor quietly playing late-night sitcom reruns. What the hell! The alarm bells in her head are going off with renewed intensity.

 _-Rose! What is it?-_  the Doctor asks worriedly, having felt her tension ramp up through their bond.

_-Nothing! There's a TV on the floor, otherwise the room is empty.-_

_-Weird…show me -_ he requests. Receiving the mental image from Rose, the Doctor can't see anything that immediately alerts him to anything hostile.

 _-Maybe the telly is supposed to keep the Leirans quiet…make them think a guard is always here-_  he suggests.

 _-Maybe; still not liking any of this-_  Rose replies, gesturing for them to join her.

Pulling Io close, Rose whispers in her ear, "Have you sensed anything? Smell any humans or other Leirans?" Io is about to shake her head in the negative when she abruptly stiffens. Other Leirans! She's never scented other Leirans before, but as that realisation flashes through her mind, so does the scent memory. The underlying odour she'd picked up so faintly earlier had been gradually increasing—now she knows what its is—her people.

Nodding strongly, Io places her lips near Rose's ear and whispers excitedly, "I just remembered the scent of my kind! It increases ahead of us; they must be close!"

Smiling at her, Rose squeezes her shoulder, but gets right back to business.

 _-Did you catch that?_ \- Rose asks the Doctor.

 _-Yep! Leirans ahead!-_  The smile in his mental tone evident.

_-Don't you think it's a little weird she hasn't smelled any humans yet? Wouldn't they come down here to at least feed them or something?-_

Rose only receives a worried affirmative. The Doctor uses the sound of the TV to muffle his sonic. Doing a quick figure-eight in the air toward the direction they're heading, he flicks it open to gauge the readings. Frowning, he does it again.

-W _hat is it?_ \- Rose asks, tensing her hands around her stunner and looking around them at all the shadows.

 _-Nothing's different! The readings are exactly the same as the ones I took the last time -_ the Doctor replies distractedly, fiddling with the device a moment. Flicking it open this time, he does a slower figure-eight. When he pulls it close to observe the readings, he stiffens.

_-Rose there are at least a hundred humans, slowly converging on us from all sides. The closest are 200 meters away passed the readings that still show the stationary Leirans-_

_-Bollocks! I knew this was too easy. Somehow we've been set-up. We need to get to the Leirans…NOW! Go! We'll follow-_

The Doctor glances back at Rose in surprise at the crispness of her order, eyebrows high, but she's focused on Io and doesn't see the smirk he hides as he turns back to head out toward the Leirans.

Looking behind her, Rose takes Io's hand as soon as it touches hers. Pulling Io to her feet and at a run, they ignore their previous caution, sprinting after the Doctor all the way to the holding cell that contains five ill, filthy, and nearly dead Leirans. They look like they've been ignored for days.

Growling low in his throat, the Doctor immediately goes to work on the lock. It takes longer than he would have expected. Once he's shorted the perception filter on it, he sees there are four levels of security that have to be removed individually—at least it isn't deadlock sealed.

"Rose it has more than one layer of security. We might not have time," he spits out through gritted teeth, finessing the lock with his sonic.

"Just get us in there, Doctor," Rose replies urgently.

Io rushes to the bars, reaching for the nearest Leiran, an older man. He has turned his face toward her, but is too weak to move. The ones who can shift, shuffle toward her or are watching the Doctor and Rose.

"We're here to get you out," Rose tells them confidently. The Doctor glances in her direction. Grinning, he shakes his head. He has no clue how they're going to manage it, but Rose's force of will is magnificent! He thinks he might like it when she gets all bossy.

"Colonel! They've reached the cell!" they hear called out from the far end of the corridor just as the Doctor gets the last of the security off the lock. Ripping it open, he throws Io, Rose, and himself into the cell with the Leirans. Slamming the door shut behind them, he deadlock seals the mechanism, hoping to buy a little time as the booted feet reach the area near the cell door.

"This was your goal? To get locked in with us?" the Doctor and Rose hear one of the Leirans ask sarcastically.

"Shhh…Rose and the Doctor have a plan. I trust them," Io says, her tone filled with faith in the Time Lords.

 _-We have a plan?-_ the Doctor asks, lounging against one side of the doorframe.

 _-Don't we always?_ \- Rose replies cheekily, leaning against the other, in studied nonchalance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Friday! I really hope you liked this chapter, but I need to apologise for the bit of a cliffie. I won't be able to update next week at all until I get my internet set up at my next location. Sorry, guys. Two more chapters for Io's story. Thanks for all the encouragement and for liking Io. Have a great weekend! Cheers!


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Io meets the other Leirans and the Doctor and Rose meet Colonel Vargas. Things are about to get real.

**23 Breaking Point**

 

"Hi, I'm Io," she tells the other Leirans huddled around her. Their eyes are tired, and their skin sallow with dehydration and a lack of food, but they all smile as she shares her name with them.

There is one female among the other males. She introduces herself as Galatea, touching fingertips lightly with Io in greeting. The youngest of the males introduces himself as Tethys, smiling brightly at Io. She blushes at his regard and touch, but manages to nod. Pointing at the other males, Tethys introduces them as Mimas, Dinlas, and Ganymede—the eldest and weakest.

Huddled around Ganymede, Io begins pulling out the bottles of water and nutritional bars from her pockets that Rose had insisted she pack. At the time she'd been amazed at the amount of stuff she could fit into the numerous pockets, and curious as to why they should bring so much; but Rose was adamant that they might need it. The woman seemed to plan for every contingency, going so far as to have snapped an extra pocket to herself that she told Io contained sleeping bags—seriously! When asked, Rose had beamed and replied that the pockets were dimensionally flexible. Grinning, Io had crammed everything she was handed into the magically deep pockets, thanking the TARDIS for being so clever.

Handing out the food and water to her stolen people has them gazing at her if she's more than just another lost girl. With small touches and pats, they thank her as they try not to stuff themselves sick, only sipping the water to remain alert.

Galatea must soak each bite of food to make it soft enough for Ganymede to eat. Even so, he can only manage a couple of bites before refusing more, asking for sips of water instead. The sadness in Galatea's eyes make Io wonder how long the two have been here and if they're mates.

Tethys helps Io distribute the food and water, and also begins utilising the medical bits that they'd brought—cleaning old wounds and treating them with creams and ointments provided by the TARDIS. Since the medications are much more advanced than anything available on the outside, everyone is soon feeling much better. There are deeper wounds to heal here than the cuts and scrapes acquired by close confinement, and Io doesn't want to consider what else.

Throughout the minutes it takes to administer to the five Leirans, Tethys never leaves Io's side. She's worried she'll drop something or accidentally feed Ganymede some antibiotic cream if Tethys continues to be so…so distracting! He's the youngest of the males, but really; she's not a kid anymore. She should be able to control herself around another male; no matter how gorgeous they are. That's what Io keeps telling herself anyway. All the while, she can't help but blush at each small brush of skin on skin, or snatched glance. At one point she even catches herself initiating them!

Her hormonal urges will have to wait. They're in no way out of the woods yet. Still locked in the cell, Rose and the Doctor casually loiter by the door as if awaiting the butler to let them in for tea. The singular sharp and measured footfalls of the approaching commander are maddening in their regularity. Even as she and Tethys are treating their fellows as quickly as possible, the tension continues to mount. The five imprisoned Leirans know exactly who's coming, and they're terrified.

Io gathers all the Leirans as close to each other as possible just like Rose had told her. Once situated, Io squats in front of them protectively. She doesn't know what she can do to help, but whatever's coming will have to go through her first. Contemplating her potential approaching mortality, Io is caught off guard when another small hand slides into hers. Looking first at their joined hands, Io raises her eyes to the bright penny-coloured pair belonging to Tethys. In them she sees his own worry and fear, but also something else; something that makes her heart flutter. This time, he's the one who blushes and looks away with a shy smile. Squeezing her hand, they turn their eyes to the entrance of the cell where the light is finally blocked by an imposing figure.

* * *

"Well, well, what have we here, Baker?" The tall grey-haired and striking individual, asks as he gazes back and forth between Rose and the Doctor unhurriedly. His utterly confident demeanour and ease with command label him as the leader of the humans currently surrounding the little cell.

The target of the inquiry snaps forward, handheld computer levelled at the doorway to the cell, obviously taking readings. Seeing it, the Doctor rolls his eyes and smirks.

"Sir! They have brought the other Leiran female with them, and I believe they are alien as well, though the computer refuses to identify them, Sir!" Taking a quick step back and to the side, Baker flashes a quick glance at the Doctor and Rose wondering what in the hell they are.

"Refuses to identify them…interesting. I was assured it was advanced enough to identify every species…"

Cutting him off, the Doctor crosses his arms over his chest and snorts at the Commander in very much the same way his previous self had observed a certain pompous twit in a bunker in Utah. Rose has to hide her own smirk behind her hand.

"Well, you were misinformed, then. That bit of Chula tech is only from the 28th Century—it's actually a teaching toy, and you won't find us in there-it only contains the species the Chula found...oh, what's a good word here? Ahhh, how about friendly, which translates to conquerable."

"I am Colonel Vargas, you will address me…"

"So, when did the Sentinels of the New Dawn come to America, Colonel? I'm the Doctor and this Rose, by the way; pleasure," he says in a flippant tone, and Rose gives a small wave. "I know about your… _group_  at Cambridge; but you; you're different. Why?" Having interrupted him again, the Doctor can see the jumping muscle in Vargas' jaw. Grinning, he glances at Rose as she goes to Vargas' defense before strolling away into the depths of the lockup.

"Doctor,  _please_ ; give the man a chance to speak. He's obviously used to be followed without question. Please, Colonel Vargas, continue. My husband is unfortunately quite rude this time," Rose says with spread hands and a pleasant smile that never reaches her eyes.

"And not ginger!" the Doctor calls from the back of the cell as he paces around the Leirans, nodding to Io and flashing her a quick smile. She isn't sure what they're up to, but if it involves winding up the Humans, they're doing a brilliant job; the air is filled with the scent of adrenaline, testosterone, and fear-some of it hers. The air of the tiny, dark cell is thick with apprehension. It's almost hard to breath.

Narrowing his eyes at Rose and flicking his attention between her and the Doctor, Vargas considers how to deal with these two; cataloguing their behaviours. They are holding themselves with irritating confidence, as if they know something he doesn't. They are purposefully trying to provoke him. They are attempting a childish version of good cop/bad cop; and they may be aliens as well, though they at least  _look_  human.

Rose watches Vargas closely. This isn't going to be the usual over-confident, screws loose maniac; this one's smart. That will make this much trickier.

 _\- Doctor, this one may be crazy, but he's not unstable-_  she flashes him quickly in warning.

Acknowledging her comment with a brush of reassurance, he paces toward the front of the cell. The patches of light sliding off of him as he moves closer to the front.

"Colonel, my apologies. Let's get right to business then, shall we? You have questions I assume; we should answer yours first. That's only fair, right Rose?" the Doctor asks with mocking condescension.

Rose rolls her eyes at her husband's reply, expecting that the Colonel will now explode and order their immediate execution. Instead, he throws his head back and fills the hallway with the incongruity of his laughter. His men glance around at each other nervously. Rose isn't as worried about them as long as all those grey uniforms stay out there.

Removing his cap, and wiping the tears from his eyes with his grey clothed wrist, Colonel Vargas' eyes twinkle with malevolent merriment. Handing his cap to his aide, the light now touches just a portion of his unusually pale eyes, making them seem to glow.

"Ahhh, you British are such snobbish pricks; even when you're sounding polite you still manage to be condescending bastards. Our own politicians should take lessons. Questions. Yes, Doctor, I have questions." Vargas begins pacing in front of the cell, ticking points off on his fingers, mimicking the Doctor's mocking timbre perfectly.

"So let's play your little game, shall we? I'll ask you some questions; you'll ask me some questions. I'll tell you my evil plan for world domination, we'll threaten each other, you'll be the cleverest man in the room, and then you and your lovely wife will somehow escape with my prisoners; saving the day. Does that sound about right?" Facing the door, his expression is one of easy open conversation. Hands spread, as if to show how harmless he is, Vargas effortlessly mimics the posture of a safe and compassionate man. A man wondering why they can't just get along.

Rose is definitely not liking the way this is going. Vargas has expertly turned the Doctor's tactics around on him. And while the Doctor's mocking smile is still in place, Rose can see that it's now brittle around the edges. Vargas is about to be unpredictable.

Stepping to the bars of the door, the Doctor places himself directly in the line of any fire from Vargas or the soldiers. Rose slides just to his right side and a step back, gesturing behind herself for Io to move the Leirans closer together.

"Ahh, Vargas I knew you would be interesting, but I was really hoping we could talk before the explosions," the Doctor says coldly, any mirth sliding completely from his features and allowing all the alien age and knowledge to fill his eyes.

Feeling the alteration in the atmosphere as the Doctor allows the Oncoming Storm to fill him, the soldiers look around nervously. Not sure what exactly changed, but they don't feel as confident in their overwhelming numbers as they did a few minutes earlier.

"Oh, Doctor, that  _is_  interesting. What  _are_  you?" Vargas asks in genuine interest, not the least afraid.

"More than you could ever imagine, Vargas." The Doctor stares at him eye to eye, expecting to see doubt, anger, maybe a touch of lunacy in those cold, icy depths. Instead, he sees nothing—they're completely blank and definitely not intimidated. A tiny speck of doubt enters his own mind, and Vargas knows, smiling wider.

"Impressive display. Perhaps, I should do the same." Raising one hand to eye level, "First, the oldest," he says calmly. The Colonel snaps his fingers once, a glint of pure malevolence flashing through his eyes.

On the floor behind them and amidst the Leirans, Ganymede begins seizing—banging his heels and head against the floor. Galatea throws herself over him with a cry, trying stop him from damaging himself.

"Stop! Stop this! What are you doing?" Io screams.

Rose rushes to the Leirans, the Doctor turning away with her, but it lasts only moments before the shaking stops. Blood has pooled in his open eyes and foam runs from his mouth. The stiffness stays, but it is obvious that Ganymede, survivor of 192 Earth years, is dead; laying in his own filth—so close to rescue.

"I'm not sure, Doctor, but I think I may have been more impressive that time. Would you like to try again?" Vargas asks, the smug amusement in his tone quite clear. The next sentence contains only menace. "I'll warn you that I have one of those little charges implanted in all of my  _specimens_."

"Normally, I'm a chance offered sort of man, but not today, Vargas; not for you. Your men should leave… **NOW**!" The Doctor roars at him, shaking the stones of the enclosure around them as he begins moving toward the door.

On the other side of the grated door, Private Siels is gripping his gun tightly, still at attention behind his commander's back, but terrified of what he feels coming toward him through the bars. Trembling and instantly overwhelmed by the inhuman bellow issuing from the small room, his automatic rifle suddenly explodes into action, letting off one short, three-round burst before he drops it to the floor like it bit him.

* * *

Inside the cell, Io is clutching Tethys in horror at what just happened to Ganymede. She'd helped Galatea feed him only minutes earlier. He was weak, but now he's gone.

Rose is holding a sobbing Galatea, trying to comfort her, when Io sees her head come up sharply. Gently shifting Galatea to Dinlas, Rose stands beside the huddled Leirans, a small narrow black device abruptly in her hand, as the Doctor begins speaking and stalking toward the cell door.

Beyond him, movement catches Io's attention. Seeing the young Human soldier so effected by everything that's happening may have elicited a sympathetic response normally, but Io is drained of all such kind feelings. Abruptly, she feels like her veins are filled with fire. Pulling free of Tethys' embrace, Io sees the young Private's eyes get wide as the Doctor thunders his reply at Vargas.

For Io, time suddenly slows. Seeing the Private clutch his gun more tightly and turn toward the cell, she begins moving forward. Reaching the Doctor, Io takes him by the arm and pulls him behind herself, exhibiting more strength than even she knew she was capable of. Baring her teeth at Vargas and the inept Private, she places herself directly in the path of the flashing muzzle, catching two of the three bullets.

Slamming into the floor and cracking her head against the pavement, time speeds up for Io once again. She doesn't feel any pain, but she doesn't like the numbness that's spreading up her arms. She's surrounded by shouting, more gunfire, blue, humming, and then there are hands—everywhere.

Blinking in the sudden brightness, Io sees Rose's face swim into view. She's talking, but Io can't hear anything past the pervasive hum in her head. She's warm and loved…that's what the hum is bringing her—love. Io decides she likes the hum.

Realising that she must be dying, Io finds the strength to reach out a hand, glad to see it's taken by Rose, who leans close a worried expression pinching her beautiful features.  _Rose is so beautiful,_  Io thinks to herself.

Rose smiles down at her; maybe she didn't just think it—oops. Trying to convey her gratitude, Io babbles on about how glad she is that she met them, how she's sorry she had to go get herself killed, they shouldn't worry about her…just save the others.

Io blinks again, and Rose's face is hovering right over hers; Rose's hands around her face. In her mind, Io clearly hears,  _-Io, sweetheart, sleep. Everything will be okay. You're safe now, just sleep-_

Io feels swallowed by the darkness that holds the warm hum. If she's dying, then this is much nicer than anything she'd ever imagined. Letting go, Io drifts away, allowing the darkness to have her completely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Many apologies for the necessary break in the story. I'm all set up now, and I've started writing again. We have one more chapter in this segment and then on the second to last. Did I mention earlier that this was a long one? I'm sure I did. :-D Thanks for being so patient, and much gratitude to my friend and Beta Ashlanielle. Cheers!


	24. Is this Heaven?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Io wakes up in the TARDIS, but where have they landed?

**24 Is This Heaven?**

 

**_~Come, Little Bird, it is time to go. Wake up, Little Bird. Wake up!~_ **

Io opens her eyes, and then blinks a few times. The remains of the warm, comforting dream she'd been enjoying are already fading from her mind, leaving only the golden glow of comfort and love behind. The room she's in is bright and she's surrounded by gently moving curtains. It reminds her a little of her mom's summer room and the house she grew up in. Io smiles at the memory.

She's breathing; breathing is good. It's nice that she somehow isn't dead; but why would she think she was dead? Where is she? She feels safe, though she's definitely starting to get too warm for these covers. Stretching languidly on the bed, Io massages an ache in her right shoulder before throwing the covers back. Sitting up and draping her feet over the right side of the bed causes a little twinge in her side. Putting her hand to the sore spot, she freezes as she hears a sudden crash of metal against the floor, and a startled 'Ooof!' from her left.

Shrinking back against the wall at the head of her bed, Io squeaks in surprise as someone lunges to their feet, draped in a light blanket and fighting to get out from under it. Clutching her fists to her mouth, Io can't completely restrain the giggle that bubbles around her knuckles at the ridiculousness of the trapped figure, despite her initial fright.

Finally mastering the blanket, Tethys emerges the victor, chagrined expression lightened by the delighted smile on his face.

"Io, you're awake!" he says excitedly, rushing back to her bedside.

"Tethys?" As his name slides through her mind and from her lips, so too does she remember…Nebraska. The hallways, the smell, Vargas, her people, and then utter chaos before…blackness.

"Ganymede," she whispers, finding her voice again as her memories calm down. Tethys is rooted in place, watching her as she relived what had happened. Nodding, he takes careful steps around the bed, coming to her side.

"He died, Tethys. We were  _so close_ , and that Vargas creep had to…" Trailing off as the tears gather in her eyes, Tethys takes the last steps. Hopping up beside her, he pulls Io into his arms and lets her grieve, telling her everything is fine. The Doctor and Rose fixed it. Vargas will never hurt anyone again. They made it out. Everyone else is alive.

Once her tears have slowed, Io sits up, gazing at Tethys in wonder. Reaching out, she squeezes his shoulder, proving to herself that he is indeed real. At the wince and sharp intake of breath, she quickly releases him.

"Tethys! What happened? Were you injured?" she asks in renewed worry, pulling her hands back.

Smiling gently, Tethys catches her hands and holds them in his as he nods. "You caught two of the bullets; I caught the third going after you. We have matching scars," he says touching her shoulder gently. "You had us so worried, Io. You were losing so much blood." Closing his bright eyes a moment, he breathes out through his nose, letting the fear go.  _She's here, and she's well!_  he tells himself brightly.

"Tell me what happened. I remember poor Ganymede, and it made me so angry. I was afraid they would shoot the Doctor, and then it's all jumbled. I can't remember anything straight," she tells him, the unhappiness of not knowing clear in her eyes.

"Well, I don't know if I can explain it all, but I'll try. I was helping Galatea take care of everyone, so I didn't go back in with Rose and the Doctor; but we picked up some guy named Jack Harkness, and he went with them. Absurdly handsome, flirted with everyone. He even pulled a smile from Galatea, and I wasn't sure that would ever happen again. Apparently he's old friends with the Doctor and Rose. But wait…I'm getting ahead of myself. Would you like some tea? The TARDIS just made it; She even set out two cups. Now I know why!" he tells her with a radiant grin.

Handing her a cup, Io barely touches it to her lips as Tethys begins to relay what happened.

After Io was shot, Tethys rushed to her side trying to put pressure on her wounds despite his own injury. And then Rose called the TARDIS to them. Tethys describes her as the Goddess Athena, standing above her injured and wounded, a black and gold wand in her hand as a spaceship materialised around them, protecting them from both the anger of Colonel Vargas and the bullets— _so many bullets._

"Rose put us someplace called the Vortex and then the Doctor started in on your shoulder—everything was moving so fast! After they grabbed Jack, they said they were going to go fix that mess and we were to stay in the TARDIS," he says with a small smile, remembering the Doctor telling them to ' _not wander off_  'like they were naughty children.

"We were all fine with that. Dinlas and I tried to stay awake and wait for them, but we slept straight through whatever happened. Before we woke up, we were landed. The Doctor and Rose were the only ones with us. Are you ready to see everyone yet? They're all excited to meet you properly." The obvious happiness in his eyes and the way he's gently rubbing the top of her hand with his thumb makes her a little giddy. She didn't remember taking his hand.

"Where are we?" Io asks, trying to mask her jumbled feelings and finally remembering her tea.

"That's a surprise!" he tells her excitedly. Jumping to his feet, Tethys holds out his hand to her dramatically. "Let's go, and I'll show you."

"Can we talk a little longer? I'm…I'm not ready for a surprise yet; there have been so many lately." The cup in Io's hand begins to tremble, sending little circles across her tea. Taking it gently from her, Tethys sets it aside and jumps up beside her on the bed again.

"Sure, Io, anything. What would you like to talk about?"

"Would you tell me about where you lived, your family? You grew up with your dad, right? I did, too."

Blinking at her, Tethys can see the fear shining in her eyes, though she's trying hard to mask it. He realises that mentally she's still back on Earth; fighting for her survival. His Io hasn't come to terms yet with their new safety. For him, a lot has happened; but for her, it was only moments ago that they were unsure of their survival in the next instant. Outside's surprise can wait. He's been hovering by her bedside for three days, waiting for her to awaken. He's actually told her all about his family, growing up in upstate New York, being an artist, and getting captured by Vargas eight years prior. But she'd been asleep, healing from her wounds. Tethys would have to tell her again, and he didn't mind at all.

* * *

Io felt safe. She could sense the TARDIS and hear Her reassuring hum all around. Io's mind, however, was still awhirl at how much had happened and how different things were about to become. She could feel it in the air around her and in the charged looks she kept receiving from Tethys.

As he launches into the story of his past, Io listens, but she's also watching him. The easy, open smile, the sparkling of his eyes when he laughs at her reactions—she had no idea he would be an artist. The way he leans toward her when he's talking—the way she enjoys it.

He's so happily animated, using his hands and face to express himself; it's adorable, and he has her in stitches talking about his dad and his older half-brothers and cousins. There's amazement when he tells her how they protected him as he was growing up, how his immediate family all knew the Leiran story and how they kept it secret among themselves along the generations. Tears as he explains how he'd lost some of those cousins and his brothers to old age over the years. More tears when he shares how the rest were all killed trying to protect him and his dad when Vargas showed up and ruined his life.

At some point in his story, Tethys brought them more tea, and when he jumped back up on the bed, he was beside her, cuddled close. She was feeling a little bold, and laid her head on his shoulder while they talked, a feeling of contentment washing over her. When he reached the part of his story about losing his family, she set her cup aside, and held him through his tears as her own ran down her cheeks and into his hair.

When he asks for her story, they stay like that, wrapped in each other's arms, discovering comfort and contentment in their embrace. He delights in her stories of the Victorian age. There were already cars when he was born, but they were able to share stories about the Wars, the music, the Civil Rights movement, the 60's and 70's, and much laughter about how the Humans had dressed in the 80's.

They cried and laughed together as they spent a couple of hours learning about each other. He's fascinated when she reaches the part about meeting Rose and the Doctor. He'd learned a little about them in the last couple of days, but Io's story from the book is mind-blowing.

Looking over at Tethys through her eyelashes, Io is feeling particularly daring in their newfound camaraderie, and decides to share another bit of memory from their first meeting. "I remember something else, you know—from when we met."

Freezing in place, Tethys doesn't know what she could mean. Giving her an encouraging hum, he tightens his grip on her fingers and his arm around her shoulder—geez, she smells so good!

"You were flirting with me. We were in  _that_  place and you were  _flirting_  with me, Tethys Leiran DiMaria," Io teases him.

Blushing like mad at her using his full name, he can't hide the pleased grin that suffuses his features. "I might have been," he teases back. He can tell that she's much more at ease now, comfortable even. Feeling so many things at once, Tethys is pretty sure his heart might burst if he doesn't get something out.

"You're safe now, Io. It was so amazing and wonderful when you showed up so suddenly, and rescued us. I've never seen anything so brave as you standing there protecting us," he tells her seriously, looking straight into her eyes. "A lot has happened, and a lot will happen, but you won't be alone this time," he says, hopping off the bed, and tugging lightly at her hand, hope in his eyes.

Io can't find the words to express herself, but she nods her understanding, and allows him to help her stand. She's surprised to find she's a little shaky on her legs; but after a few steps, she feels more confident, though she refuses to let go of his hand.

As they move out of the Infirmary and into the darkened Console room, Io can see the doors from the TARDIS are standing open, bright light shining through them. Suddenly stopping, Io discovers that she's still afraid to go outside. She can hear birds singing and laughter, but it's the laughter of many voices. She only just woke up, just ' _met_ ' Tethys, and she's never liked crowds. Maybe she could just wait a bit.

In her mind, Io feels the TARDIS' caress as She surrounds her in loving reassurance. Io knows she can do this. She's done so much, there's just this one last thing. Her trembling eases, and Io takes a deep breath, centering herself. Tethys steps closer, laying his other hand to her shoulder.

"Are you alright?" he asks in concern.

"Ya, I can do this. I  _am_  doing this," Io says, blinking back tears.

"I know you'll love it. It's a good surprise, I promise," he tells her, grinning again and looking truly happy.

Squaring her shoulders and indulging in another deep breath, Io nods and allows Tethys to draw her toward and then through the TARDIS doors.

Stepping out of the TARDIS, Io finds herself leaning heavily on Tethys as she's overwhelmed by the sight of a huge lawn of soft blue grass set up for a party with cheerful billowing tents of transparent green and yellow cloth. There are tables set up under the tents and filled with people— _their people—_ at least 50 of them. Seated on cushions at the central table and laughing are the Doctor and Rose, obviously enjoying the hospitality and the celebration.

Rose looks up to see that Io and Tethys have  _finally_  exited the TARDIS. Nudging the Doctor and pointing with her chin, he looks up. With a grin, he leans over and whispers to the Leiran beside him, who turns to regard Io and Tethys with a wide happy and welcoming smile.

Jumping to his feet, he makes his way to the couple, already talking a mile a minute. "Hello! We went ahead and started the celebration hoping you'd be joining us soon, my dear. I'm Rill'Pin, your much too many times to count grandfather," he says politely, holding out his fingers for her to touch, before looping her other arm around his.

Ushering them back toward the table where she can see Galatea, Mimas, and Dinlas waving at her, Rill'Pin tells her about how they were all so worried for her, how the Doctor had helped heal the others, and how Tethys has stayed by her side the entire time. Io blushes as she glances sideways at Tethys' own grin. Reaching the table, Rill'Pin seats her and Tethys across from the Doctor and Rose.

Rose and the Doctor relate to them what has happened over the past three days, how once they left, they allowed the entire place to burn up. There were no more alien survivors of any kind in the building or the basements, so they decided it would be safer if it no longer existed.

The Doctor delivered Vargas, with Jack as chaperone, to the Shadow Proclamation before heading to Leira. The Shadow Architect agreed to investigate and they had, just in the last hour, received word that there were off-world investors who were behind the funding for this American offshoot of the group known as the Sentinels of the New Dawn, masquerading as protectors of humanity. The Shadow Council was very unhappy and the Judoon had been sent.

The Doctor passes along that the Shadow Council does  _not_  need to see them or any of the rescued Leirans. Rose found evidence in the Silo that was more than enough when added to what the investigation had already yielded.

"The Architect does humbly request that once you and Galatea are feeling up to it, please stop by and give them the history of your original mission, so they can finally close the disappearance of the Tel'marc in their records," the Doctor tells the assembled Leirans, leaning back with a pleased smile on his face.

Io is still a bit shell-shocked. Before she'd awakened, her last memory was thinking she was dying, and now she's home, on her own planet, surrounded by more of her kind. She won't die alone, and she's found Tethys. These thoughts dampen her spirits a bit when she realises that she still only has 50 years left to her.

Rill'Pin sees that her mood has shifted and she appears to be sad. "What's wrong, my dear? This is a most joyous occasion! What causes the sadness I see in your eyes?" he asks, laying a kindly hand to her shoulder.

"Grandfather, I am already 150. Please don't think me ungrateful," she replies hurriedly, looking down at her hands. "I'm thrilled to live the last years of my life with my own people; I just wish I had more time."

Io's eyes flash back up to his in surprise when Rill'Pin begins laughing at her. Attempting to contain himself, he teases her, "Io, my darling girl, you are truly only sad because that handsome lad next to you is so young, only 80!" Blushing furiously, she can barely glance at Tethys, who's wearing a knowing grin but his eyes are filled with something that makes her stomach flutter and her heart seems to know quite well.

From across the table Rose speaks up, helping Rill'Pin, who's still snorting in laughter. "What Rill'Pin's trying to get out is that while you were healing, we were able to run you through an updated Leiran scan on the TARDIS. What the Leiran doctors found is that all of your dominant Leiran physiologies make you receptive to their gene therapies."

"Over the intervening centuries, they've developed longevity treatments, and it's considered standard practise to administer them to the injured. So Rill'Pin, there, believes you should have at least another 250 years or so," the Doctor finishes, looking just a touch smug.

"I hope that's alright," Io hears hesitantly from her left. Looking at Tethys and then around the table in obvious astonishment has everyone laughing happily at her reaction. Pulling Io to her feet, Tethys draws her to him in a thorough and welcome snog, inciting excited shouts of joy from the entire gathering. Io could never have imagined a more welcome homecoming.

"Tethys, it's more than alright, it's brilliant!" Io tells him, snuggling close after they sit to cheers and clapping.

* * *

Rose and the Doctor stay another day to celebrate with the Leirans. Leaving Io restored to her people fills both of them with joy. Her obvious happiness and the slow relaxing of her fear-induced habits pleases them to no end.

But Rose is tired in ways that staying on Leira just can't fix. She misses Jack and Donna… and Dougie; he would have enjoyed the peace of the Leirans and their lovely planet.

After their goodbyes are said—some tearful, all joyous—the Doctor and Rose wave one last time to the Leirans before they enter the TARDIS, sending them into the Vortex.

Finding a light blinking on the console, they get the message that the Shadow Architect graciously dropped Jack off at the Hub, so no need to worry about him. He'd see them soon, and included a date: January 1st, 2007.

"That's only a few weeks away in his timeline, Doctor. Should we just jump ahead?" Rose asks excitedly.

Glancing over to her, the Doctor is pleased to see her so happy, but can still feel how tired she is underneath it all. Everything that had happened at the Silo must have added another layer of fatigue to her already diminished energy. Not wanting to dampen her spirits, but also not wanting to share his wife with Jack just yet, the Doctor sidesteps. He's worried about her, and they have a time machine—there'll be plenty of time later.

"You know, Rose, that isn't that far ahead, as you pointed out. Why don't we go pick up our current Jack and Donna? They must be tired of Sylvia by now. I think we've earned those few weeks on a leisure planet. There are a few even I haven't even been to yet! January the 1st, 2007 can always be tomorrow," he says with his cheeky grin, wagging his eyebrows at her.

Flicking a switch on the console, he slides over to his wife as music begins playing. Taking her hand in his, he sends her out and twirls her back, dancing her around the console to Benny Goodman and his band.

Giggling at him, Rose replies, "Oh, going to show me your moves, Doctor?"

"I have brilliant moves, Rose Tyler, but perhaps you've forgotten. Care for a reminder?" he says, pulling her close and ghosting a breath along her neck to nibble an earlobe.

"Always," she breathes out, involuntarily shuddering at the gentleness of his touch.

Gathering his giggling and protesting wife into his arms, the Doctor proceeds out of the console room and to their personal chamber. From the console, a surprised shout followed by a stream of curses and bubbling laughter can be heard as the TARDIS dims the lights, floating freely in the Vortex.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yea! Io's safe and happy! I apologise for the cliffie. -grin- I really enjoyed having Io join us for a while. I was really pleased with everyone's thoughts about her as well. You all, rock! Next week, we begin the new mad adventure to a familiar planet. This is the second to the last story of this book; the one where everything changes.
> 
> As a personally amusing aside...did anyone notice that all but one of Io's chapters were song titles? The first one was an accident, and then well, you know. When your favourite group has such good titles, what do you do? You borrow them! :-) See you Monday with 25 Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend.
> 
> Many thanks to my dear beta and friend Ashlanielle for all her hard work.


	25. Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A leisure planet, you say? Alright, how about Midnight? With it's Sapphire Falls, diamond landscape, and X-tonic sun Xion, Midnight is sure to be the your most talked about Leisure Palace Company destination. Join us on stunning, beautiful Midnight!

**25 Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend**

 

"Is there sun bathing?"

"Well, yes…sort of, but the direct sunlight will kill you, it's x-tonic!"

"Lovely. How 'bout massages?"

"Oh yes! Every variety  _ever_  is available. Says so right here in the brochure, Donna, if you just want to—"

"Are there heaps of beautiful men to wait on us and foot?"

"Ummm, I think so, probably women, androids, multiforms—whatever you fancy, I guess, but…"

"And the food; is it any good?"

"I haven't been there yet, Donna! That's the whole point. It's new. New planet, new experiences—new is good!"

"Restaurants.…"

"Yes, yes, there are dozens of them. Ohhhh, and one is anti-gravity; we'd have to use bibs!"

"Mmmm-hmmmm… _ **delightful**_ ," she says sarcastically. "Doctor, give me the one reason you think I should let you take Rose and I—"

"And me!" Jack pipes up enthusiastically, thoroughly enjoying this sparring match. He and Rose have been sitting on the jump seat watching this little debate take place about all three of the planets the Doctor has suggested. The previous two hadn't reached this point before Donna shot them down. This one looks like a winner.

Donna rolls her eyes and continues her question despite Jack's interruption, "…And Captain Smoothtalker over there, to this…this,  _leisure_  planet you're so excited about? What's it called again?"

"Midnight, Donna. It's called Midnight," the Doctor replies with a sigh, running a hand through his hair. Tapping his teeth with the pencil he's been using to underline interesting attractions, he looks for something, anything, that will finally impress Donna.

"Oh, I've got it! The entire planet is made of  _diamond_!" he says, a huge, happy grin splitting his face. The Doctor looks around at them all, eyebrows high and tongue between his teeth, excited—like a puppy when a treat bag rattles. This place is just about the coolest thing  _he's_  ever heard of: a diamond planet with sapphire waterfalls—brilliant!

"Well, Spaceman, why didn't you say so in the first place! Diamonds are a girl's best friend, I hear," she teases with a smirk, throwing a significant look over her shoulder back at Jack.

Rose nearly loses her tea through her nose at Donna's expression.

Jack hoots for joy, glad that they've  _finally_  reached a decision. He and Donna could really use a break, after their "time off" back on Earth. The Doctor and Rose hadn't escaped from Sylvia Noble for twenty-four hours before he and Donna were nearly killed by the Judoon and a lack of air when the Royal Hope Hospital was transported to the moon…the Moon! So much for simply picking up a prescription for Wilf.

With the help of a very resourceful medical student, Ms. Martha Jones, they had finally tricked the plasmavore into revealing herself, but he'd nearly been sucked dry in the process—and gotten into some serious trouble for kissing said medical student. As a human from the 51st century, he was just different enough genetically to alert the Judoon to an anomaly, but catching the plasmavore in the act was the kicker. Trying to convince Donna that it was just a necessary genetic transfer was like trying to convince Churchill that Hitler just wanted to be friends. They'd only made up the night before, when the Doctor explained in super fine detail why Jack's plan had worked and that it really had been the best option.

Donna was smart, funny, and had moments of dead-brilliant insight. When angry, she was the most magnificent creature around with her brazenly vocal opinions, and when the target of that anger was  _finally_  out of the doghouse the makeup sex was amazing. Jack might actually have a bit of a limp. Good thing the TARDIS soundproofed Her bedrooms. Thinking back over the previous night, he actually blushes just a touch, the tips of his ears glowing.

Recovering over her teacup, Rose catches the redness of Jack's ears and the adoring look he's giving Donna's back as she continues teasing the Doctor, chasing him around the console and grabbing at the handful of brochures. Smirking to herself, Rose wishes Jack and Donna well, glad of their happiness.

A vacation  _would_  be nice. She isn't sure what's so exciting about a planet made of diamonds, but seeing the Doctor so excited about it makes her happy in turn. She can tell that Donna was just hassling him for the sheer joy it. They really must have been siblings in some weird alternate reality. The images of a little, loud-mouthed, red-headed girl chasing a small, skinny, brown-haired boy around almost makes Rose choke on her tea again.

The Doctor must have caught a piece of the image through their bond, because he abruptly stops, Donna crashing into him, and with a muffled "Oooof!" they fall to the grating. Once Donna rolls off of him, amidst much hysterics, the Doctor, panting and still on his back on the grating, informs them that he has never, in over 900 years,  _ever_  pulled anyone's pigtails.

Still laughing, Jack helps the Doctor to his feet.

"That's good, Doc, 'cause Donna would just slug ya back!" he says with a grin, hugging Donna to his side affectionately.

"Bloody well right!" Donna replies, shaking her fist menacingly in the air. "Let's go pack!" With a mischievous glint in her eye, Donna turns, grabbing Jack and dragging him off down the hallway, laughing all the way.

Taking the few steps to the jumpseat, the Doctor flops down next to Rose, looking particularly disheveled, his suit a bit rumpled and his hair attaining new heights. Spinning around, he lays back, dropping his head into her lap, closing his eyes, and smiling at their closeness.

"Well, love, you look like you could use a vacation from the vacation planning," Rose teases him, running her hands through his hair, ruffling the spikes between her fingers.

"Ohhhh, I'm alright. How are  _you_  feeling? I think this place will be fun, but really, the point is for  _you_  to rest." Looking at her energies, the Doctor can see that the luminous golden strands that usually wrap around her are still a bit sluggish, but they're light, and she radiates happiness.

"It sounds like the perfect place to me. Pampering for Donna and me, exploration of the strange and new for you and…Hmmm. Persuading Jack to go exploring with you might take some doing. He'll like the pampering too," Rose says thoughtfully, looking up at the ceiling with its hanging cables and coral struts.

"Nahhhhh, who'd want to miss sapphire waterfalls?!" the Doctor scoffs. "It's a leisure planet, Rose. That's all there is to do—rest and see new things. I can't wait to try the anti-grav restaurant!"

Giggling, they continue discussing the things they can explore on this new planet the Doctor found for them. This will be fun!

* * *

Rose is amazed that it takes an entire day before the Doctor is completely bored. The only inhabited location on the planet—the lofted, saucer-shaped Torus hub—while enormous, only offers so many options to the usually very busy Time Lord. At least on San Helios, he has the entire planet to explore whenever he wants. Being confined by the x-tonic sunlight to either the hub or specifically designated vehicles for trips (vehicles that are  _all_  currently being repaired) has pushed him to the brink of tearing his hair out.

"All the vehicles, Rose; how is that even possible? Don't they have a maintenance schedule?" the Doctor whinges from his upside down position in a lounger as Rose languidly drapes herself in another lounge chair next to him by the enormous central pool. She's just experienced the most amazing massage of her life, performed by the six-armed, telepathically null Serlepthan. As a 12-star leisure resort (Zagat rated), Midnight has every amenity imaginable for every species likely to visit. Being able to designate that she needed a grade-zero telepath as her therapist and her room shielded and also at zero, allowed Rose to completely relax into the treatment more than even on the TARDIS.

Turning a blissful smile in the Doctor's direction, she lazily watches his agitated movements but can't bother to muster the energy to care. Smiling slowly, she shifts a hand in his direction. Not even considering his response, he takes it and grinds to a halt mid-word as Rose allows her own tranquility to transfer via the touch.

A sensation of cool honey enfolds the Doctor's mind and tongue as Rose wraps him up in her contented joy. Blinking at her a few times, he allows her touch to soothe his frenetic thoughts. Breathing deeply, he shifts around, managing to not dump himself and the lounge chair in the pool, to kneel next to her; kissing her sweetly and slowly, enjoying the shared sensations they're still exchanging through Rose's charged contact.

Reining herself in, Rose pulls the link back, seeing a busy-looking fellow approaching them from over the Doctor's shoulder. Feeling her presence recede, the Doctor looks up to see Rose's gaze has shifted to follow something behind him.

"Hello! Please excuse me," the man says cheerfully while wringing his hands in a slightly worried fashion.

Smiling at Rose, the Doctor squeezes her hand before turning and getting back to his feet, inadvertently towering over the much shorter and pale blue man. Dressed smartly in an asymmetrically cut suit, he looks every inch the consummate concierge.

"Hello!" the Doctor responds brightly. "You must be from Veltuvia. I just love Veltuvia. They have the most delicious little cakes there, Rose. They make everything into little cakes!"

The small man blushes bright blue in pleasure at the Doctor's recognition of his species and grins happily at him, momentarily forgetting why he's there. He has no idea that he would have received an entirely different sort of reception if he'd shown up only a couple of minutes earlier.

"Yes, yes, we do! Thank you very much. I always love to hear that others have enjoyed my home planet," he replies, beaming. "Oh, I came for a purpose, though! I nearly forgot, please forgive me. Did one of you register for a telepathically null massage? A…Rose Tyler?" he asks, looking at a small computer in his palm.

"Yep! That's me, Rose Tyler. It was utterly brilliant by the way, really top notch," she says with a little wave, but that's all the movement he's going to get from her for now.

"Excellent, excellent, thank you! Well, I'm Torlan, and I'm responsible for registering the guests, especially telepathic guests. We like to know so certain areas can be shielded and certain guests aren't accidentally slotted together for…errr…certain activities or reservations. Wouldn't want to sign up for a wind riding class with a Worloon now, would you?" Torlan says with a hesitant little laugh.

"Ack! No!" the Doctor exclaims, the look of distaste clear on his pinched face. "They aren't exactly telepathic, but they have absolutely no shields and they're very…well, loud and…" leaning close he whispers to Rose, "…smelly!"

Sharing a conspiratorial chuckle with Torlan, the Doctor agrees to go with him to the medical wing and register his party's species. Leaning in to give Rose a quick peck, he waves to the approaching Donna and Jack as he follows Torlan toward a section of the Torus he hasn't explored yet.

"Where's the Spaceman off to?" Donna asks as she and Jack slide into loungers next to Rose.

"Doctor stuff with the doctor staff," Rose says drowsily, not bothering to hide her yawn. "Nothin' important. Good night."

Moving down a little further in the row of loungers, Jack and Donna chat quietly about what to enjoy next. The wind riding classes sound fun.

* * *

Following after Torlan, the array of medical equipment available at the Torus' clinic impresses the Doctor. He points out pieces he finds particularly fascinating, and Torlan nods politely, humming agreement where expected, although he really has no idea what the difference between machine A and scanner B would be if his life depended on it. The Doctor is particularly pleased with one that blinks several lights and dings when a result is acquired. Reaching the main desk, Torlan gratefully releases the Doctor into the capable manipulator tentacles of Dr. Sut'ack`Rilleen. Bowing deeply to her and the Doctor, Torlan takes his leave, encouraging the Doctor to just ring if he needs anything. Exiting the clinic, he continues on about his duties, feeling both pleased and relieved.

"Aren't you gorgeous! A Terelin'A'Peth! I haven't seen one of you in ages. I'm the Doctor," he says happily, extending his right hand to her in a strangely undulant sort of fashion that somehow manages to look graceful.

Mirroring him, the large beetle-like creature rattles her wing casings and extends her left manipulator toward the Doctor, splitting it into a hand-like appendage with four fingers. Touching, they both tip toward each other slightly. The Doctor grins at her in obvious pleasure. The Terlin'A'Pethi doctor flashes green across her carapace in delight at his kind greeting.

"Many gracious days of light to you, Doctor! You may call me Dr. Rilleen. Long it has been since I was greeted properly, by one not of my own kind," she says happily through the translator hanging around her neck, the clicks, hums, ticks, and glottal gasps difficult even for a Time Lord's throat to mimic.

"And may your hive ever be warm, Dr. Rilleen. Oh, really the pleasure is mine! Last time I was on Terelin'A'Peth Major, I think Vork'Ackt'Alon was still Queen," he muses. He'd taken Jamie and Victoria with him on that trip. Eye opening experience for the Humans—talking to giant, sentient beetles that love nothing better than sweets, and luckily for him, recorder music. It had been a fun trip, one of the few where there wasn't any running. The memory slides sweetly through his mind as Dr. Rilleen gasps, her antenna quivering in excitement and her mandibles rubbing quickly together.

"Doctor! I took you to be human, but that is not possible as Queen Vork'Ackt'Alon passed to the Maker centuries ago," she says, clicking her antenna in confusion.

"Oh, no, not human, me," he says with a smile. "But I have some humans with me as part of our party. I'm here to register two humans and two telepaths," the Doctor tells her, smiling brightly and rocking back on his heels and looking around at the state of the art facility.

"And what species are the telepaths, may I ask? Your confidentiality is guaranteed, but we need to know so we may treat you accurately in the event of an accident, though that is highly unlikely," she says, spreading her soft "hands," asking for understanding.

Gazing at her a moment, the Doctor decides to be honest for once when he isn't just showing off. Not that anything will happen here, but Rose is pregnant, and they  _are_  allergic to aspirin, not that it's a common pain reliever way out here, but still, Rose would tell them.

"My wife and I are Time Lords," he says to Dr. Rilleen. "And my wife is pregnant. I don't expect anything will happen, but better safe than sorry at the moment, right?"

Dr. Rilleen's wing casings flare out in surprise. "Doctor! Your species is considered extremely endangered! Maker be praised that you increase," she blesses him, taking his hand again in both of hers and blowing over his palm in some strange form of benediction.

Eyes wide at her statement and actions, the Doctor wonders curiously if the designation is a Shadow Proclamation thing. They don't always agree on methods, but he generally has a good relationship with the Architects. He wouldn't be surprised if this wasn't Her way of trying to do him a little favour.

"My esteemed colleague is returning tonight. She is the specialist for the telepathic species. I will apprise her of your arrival. Doctor, I will add your party to our registry, and may you all have an excellent visit. We are blessed by your continued existence," she says, bowing to him again, deeper this time, and shading her carapace a deep purple in a show of respect.

Returning her bow, he's not sure how to feel about her effusive behaviour. He's generally mouthing off about being superior, but such blatant praise makes him feel uncomfortable, especially when he hasn't just finished saving their planet, or rescuing their pet, or something.

 _Praise for existing…Hmmm. That's a new one. Still, I got to talk to a Terelin'A'Peth! How brilliant is that? I can't wait to tell Rose!_  he thinks, sauntering back toward the pool and his probably sleeping wife.

Halfway back, an announcement across the hub-wide PA system states that all Crusader vehicles will be functional tomorrow and trips to all destinations will resume.

Delighted with the news, a little extra spring enters the Doctor's step as he continues toward the pool.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Monday! Here is this first chapter in the new segment, and Yep, we're about to visit Midnight. If you go back to the very first chapter, and read the A/N again, this is that portion you'll need to trust me on. We loved and hated this story when it aired. Mine comes from a different direction, but still escalates toward angst. Thanks for reading! Wednesday's chapter is: Newsflash


	26. Newsflash

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor and Rose prepare for their various and separate activities on Midnight. We meet a new friend, and the fun begins.

**26 Newsflash**

 

"It's four hours, Doctor, there and back. That's  _eight hours_  in a sealed bus with strangers. Won't you go barmy?" Rose asks, looking at the data sheet for the Sapphire Falls trip. "It's not even sightseeing until you get there. How are you going to entertain yourself?"

The idea of being locked in a bus with her husband for eight hours doesn't even sound pleasant to his wife. Rose can't imagine he'll find it enjoyable.

"We'll get to know each other. And they won't all be strangers, Jack's going to come along! Which means no one will be a stranger in say...ten minutes!" the Doctor pokes fun at their absent friend before needling Rose a little more. "You and Donna could still join us, then—"

"Then, you could drive the entire busload of us crazy? No thanks, Doctor," she replies with a grin. "Just no taking the truck apart when you get bored. No 'improvements'!"

"Rose Tyler, I am a tourist!" he replies indignantly. "I am perfectly capable of doing touristy things with other  _tourists_  without taking things apart. You wound me," he says, laying a dramatic palm over one of his hearts and pouting at her.

"Really? The last time we played at being tourists on an inhabited planet we ended up in jail—twice!" Rose reminds him, eyebrow raised.

"How was I to know the natives forbade the use of denim? So technically that was you, and the second time was a complete misunderstanding. That traffic light was definitely on the fritz. It only needed—"

"Defacing government property. That's what they called it, Doctor." She's winding him up on purpose and having trouble hiding it.

"Rose, the point is—"

"No, no, Doctor," Rose interrupts him, laughing. "It's good.  _Really_ , I was just teasing you. I'm sorry." Tucking her tongue in her teeth as she smiles at him smooths the creases from his brow, and he leans in for the kiss she obviously wants.

"Well, wife, what are your plans, then? Do you and Donna have something fun in the works?" he asks, returning to his chair beside her.

"We're getting full body wraps in some sort of weird leaf that's apparently great for dry skin, mani/pedis, and then lunch at DeeBop," she tells him, ticking items off on her fingers. "Apparently the tables and chairs float. We decided that would be a good halfway step before our reservations at The Sky's the Limit, tonight. After lunch, Donna's trying out another wind riding lesson with me, sans the Worloons that Torlan warned us about. Apparently, stinky is an understatement," Rose finishes, grinning at the remembered story from last night.

The wind riding lesson with a friendly, but very odoriferous creature that looked a bit like a cross between a badger and an ostrich was more excitement than either Jack or Donna had been looking for.

"Hmm…Worloons, they're a friendly lot, but phew! And their ridiculously long necks always get in the way when they get agitated. I can't even imagine playing in a wind stream with them," the Doctor replies, not successfully hiding his chuckle at the visual in his mind.

"You're  _suuuure_  you and Donna don't want to join us?" he tries one last time. "Chance of a lifetime to see a crystal glacier break into millions of sapphires at the edge of a 100,000 meter drop, Rose Tyler." His wheedling tone and adorably pitiful expression melt her hearts, but not enough to get her on that tin can they call a bus, and Rose can see his pleading is all in play. He wants her to be happy, doing whatever she wants, whether that's joining him or not.

Donna turning the corner of their suite's patio wall cuts off Rose's reply as Donna answers for her, "Yes, she's sure, you knob. Rattling around in a rubbish bin for hours doesn't sound fun, even if she weren't pregnant!"

Throwing herself into the chair on Rose's other side, Donna retrieves her book, looking over her sunglasses at the Doctor, to make sure he heard her—no worries there.

"Right, No falls for you two, then. Well, I for one can't wait. Where's Jack? We're supposed to be queued up in twenty-five minutes," the Doctor states, glancing at his watch.

"Getting snacks or reading material or something; I don't know. He listed off like five hundred things he thought you might need. I quit listening. That man's worse than a girl sometimes!" Donna says affectionately, with a snort of amusement.

In just another moment, they can hear Jack's voice in the distance getting closer, chatting away excitedly and definitely to another person. Looming above the wall they see the approach of a tall woman with hair plaited tightly to her head that's so pale a gold it's almost silver. She's looking down, apparently at Jack, with an indulgent smile, as they can hear him even more clearly now.

"They're right over here and, boy, wait till they see you! The Doctor's going to—"

"Actually, friend Jack, I can  _see_  them already," she interrupts with a smile, easily capable of seeing over the not-quite-two-meter-high wall—perfectly private for most races. Raising her hand in acknowledgement, she turns away to await a proper greeting, pausing just outside the entrance to their "yard."

Rose smiles outright at the comedy of the entire scene. Lifting a hand for the Doctor to help her up, she swings out of the chair, missing the surprised and interested expression on her husband's face. Stepping around the wall, they can see that their guest is indeed especially tall, towering over Jack, she's wearing a form-fitted pale grey coverall with a loose tunic of light green draped around it. Her head is uncovered, with only her face showing, but the coverall has a high collar and fitted gloves. It is an extraordinarily lovely face, almost elfin in the delicacy of her features, with wide, deeply-set emerald green eyes. Rose is struck by how much she reminds her of Dougie.

Immediately taking a step forward, she bows deeply before introducing herself, "Peace and welcome be with you. I am Dr. Ellasiera, Lené of Duat yth Sharn, and currently I am the telepathic specialist on Midnight. Welcome." Straightening, she smiles briefly at them, looking them over carefully with intense scrutiny. "I returned last night and was greeted by a most interesting message from my colleague, Dr. Rilleen. I came as soon as I was able—to make myself known to you."

Rose watches in surprise as the Doctor steps forward to greet the newcomer. "Peace and gratitude be with you, Dr. Ellasiera. As I'm sure Jack has already told you, I'm the Doctor and this is Rose, my wife," he says, gesturing to Rose, who nods and remembers to blink.

"You are truly Time Lords, as Rill said. Great Tana has indeed blessed me with not one but  _two_  meetings with your esteemed race this month, and my Lord Doctor _,_  you are known to me, of course, from times past," she tells them in a slightly awed tone, just a little hero-worship evident in her eyes. The Doctor looks at her oddly, his brow creased as if he's trying to remember something. His thoughts, though, are interrupted by Jack speaking up.

"I met Doc Ella while I was at the commissary. I just knew she had to be from Dougie's people, and when I mentioned you, Doc, she wanted to see you immediately. So, here we are!" Jack says happily, setting down his enormous and conspicuously-packed backpack

"Oh, just Doctor, thank you. Right, yes, Dougie!" the Doctor responds with a smile, completely missing to intensity of the star-struck doctor's regard, distracted by Jack's bag of goodies for an instant. "We have a friend that's actually Tanu. We found him on Earth and just recently left him in the care of the Ood."

"A Tanu?" she asks, incredulous, her lovely eyes widening. "But m...Doctor, that is...is...I cannot imagine how that is possible. It has been so long."

"I know! Isn't it brilliant? Well, we can talk about it later, but I assume—"

"Wait!" Donna exclaims, stepping forward brusquely and interrupting the Doctor. "Did you just say  _ **two**  meetings_ with Time Lords?"

Caught off guard by the discovery that the doctor was the same race as Dougie, Rose had completely missed that part of Ellasiera's introduction. Gasping at the implications, she goes to the Doctor's side and takes his hand.

He had obviously missed it as well, because he looks over to his wife with wide eyes before turning a somewhat narrowed gaze in the doctor's direction. He doesn't have to wait long, as Ellasiera is excited to share her story of the brief meeting.

"Indeed! I met a lovely young lady named Genny while I was attending a conference on Costa del Centauri VI," she begins.

Rose's hand instantly covers her mouth and tears shine in her eyes as she shares a glance with her equally surprised husband.

"Wait, her name was Genny? She was so tall," the Doctor's hand hovers near Rose's head, "and blonde?"

At the Lené doctor's disbelieving nod, Donna steps in. "And did she have a great big smile, curiosity for days, and a sassy mouth on her?"

"Yes! So you know her? My amazement knows no bounds this day!" Dr. Ellasiera replies in excitement. Donna jumps up and down with a squeal, hugging Jack and laughing in joy as Rose gasps in a little, disbelieving half-sob.

"Know her? She's our daughter, Genny Tyler, and we've been looking for her," Rose states, wiping happy tears from her eyes. The Doctor pulls her to him, hugging her close, smiling at Dr. Ellasiera over Rose's head.

"That's the best news we've had, since...well, since we realised we'd made our own littlest Time Lord," the Doctor says, grinning. Taking a step back from his wife, he looks down into her red but happy gaze, rubbing the pad of one thumb over her cheek to catch the last tears. "See, luv, I know exactly where Coste del Centauri VI is; fabulous milkshakes. Assuming she's still nearby, we'll see if we can't catch up with her. We can leave now if you want, Rose," he offers sincerely.

"No, no, can't have you missing the Sapphire Falls. Just knowing she's okay is brilliant. She  _was_  okay, right, Dr. Ellasiera?" Rose asks her a little hesitantly.

"Please, call me Ella. And, yes, she was well enough. She will be doing better now that I taught her how to shield herself from the noisy minds around her. She was only stopped a few hours to repair her ship, but Genny shared her story with me, once I let her know that I recognised her telepathy and her species—a Time Lord's energy signature is very unique. She was a bit surprised and did not mention you by name, but she is looking for you both, as well," Dr. Ella tells them with a happy grin. "Her story is miraculous, and it brings me joy to have brought it to you. Tana is smiling today!"

"I knew this was going to be a good trip, Doc, but this makes it pretty epic," Jack states enthusiastically.

"Quite right, Jack," the Doctor responds, so excited by the news that he doesn't grace them with the usual eye-roll at Jack's annoying nickname. "But, Dr. Ella, you mentioned you were looking for us?" he reminds her.

"Oh, yes, Doctor, thank you. Truthfully, I was just coming to introduce myself, as I am in charge of your medical care. I specialise in the telepathic races but have personal experience with Time Lords, so I was doubly excited when I received Dr. Rilleen's message. Tana's blessings on your new family. If you require me in any way, please do not hesitate, no matter the hour," she assures them. "On a less professional note, I hope we can visit together during your stay. I would love to learn more about your Dougie as well as your daughter, but for now I must return to my duties."

"Dr. Ella, we would love to get together for tea or dinner. Thank you so much for bringing us this news. You can't know how happy you've made us!" Without worrying about telepathic propriety, Rose closes the gap between them and gives the startled doctor a quick, but earnest, hug. Stiff for only a moment, Dr. Ella folds her long arms around Rose and returns the embrace, smiling happily at the gesture.

Stepping back, the Lené gives them a short bow before turning and heading in the direction of the medical wing on the Torus.

 **-Crusader 50 will depart in five minutes. Final boarding for all passengers en route to the Sapphire Falls. Crusader 50 departing in five minutes** —

"Oh, that's us, Jack!" the Doctor says excitedly, patting his pockets and picking up his long coat, giving it a long look. Deciding to leave it behind, he drapes it over the chair next to Rose, taking the opportunity to embarrass his wife by snogging her thoroughly, using up one of their minutes. Rose lays his palm against her cheek a moment and smiles up at him.

"Come on, Doctor, we're gonna be late," Jack states with a grin, stepping back from his own kiss with Donna and picking up his sack.

"What do you have in there?" the Doctor asks.

"Oh, you know, stuff," Jack replies evasively.

Rose joins Donna leaning against the wall watching them walk off, chatting away.

"Oi!" Donna calls out before they've gone too far.

The Doctor and Jack pause and turn back.

Rose yells, "Be careful!"

Grinning, the Doctor and Jack wave, and the Doctor yells back, "What could possibly go wrong?" A flippant little salute from Jack, and they're lost in the crowd.

Donna turns to Rose and rolls her eyes. "With those two?"

"I know! I hate it when he says things like that. He probably just jinxed it. You'd think he'd learn," Rose says, sighing. "It does look fairly fool-proof...according to the brochure anyway."

"Oh, well, that's reassuring, then," Donna replies, laughing. Then she notices two identical and gorgeous men coming directly toward them. "Look, Blondie, here comes our escorts!"

"Wow, they're, umm...fit," Rose manages, blushing a little.

"I know! I booked them because they were the prettiest. They're matching clones. Only the best for us, Sunshine," Donna informs her with a satisfied smirk.

"Hello, boys!" Donna says enthusiastically as the twins reach them, introducing themselves as Tali and Toli.

"How will we ever tell them apart?" Rose wonders sotto voce to Donna as they turn back to retrieve the few items they're taking with them.

"Who cares," Donna replies, beaming at Rose.

Laughing, they each take the arm of one of their escorts who immediately start chatting about their visit. Rose hopes the Doctor has a good time, because hers is already brilliant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Wednesday! I hope you enjoyed the chapter. :-) Things begin to shift in the next chapter. Thank you so much for the Kudos! I'll see you Friday with The Witching Hour. Cheers!


	27. The Witching Hour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Donna and Rose meet up with Dr. Ellasiera at the restaurant, but lunch is not as peaceful as they wished.

**27 The Witching Hour**

 

"Oh, Donna, this day…" Sighing happily as they sit in lounge chairs outside the nail spa, Rose continues, "I really needed a day like this." Rose's nails are the perfect TARDIS blue, and Donna settled on a color she called, "He's Mine, Mitts Off, Red." It was so perfectly Donna that they'd asked for the recipe.

"Buttercup, you are singing my song. Once the twins bring us our drinks, we're on our own though," Donna replies, sighing extravagantly. Their escorts have been perfect gentlemen the entire morning and gave the best foot massages ever. Donna was pretty sure Jack would let her keep one if she asked nicely. Smiling secretly to herself, she thinks on how far things can change, and how those changes affect a person-specifically herself when she thinks back to being a temp in Chiswick.

"Hey, Rose?" Donna asks, hesitantly.

"Yeah, Donna?" Rose lifts her sunglasses and looks over at her friend with concern—it's a rarity that she uses her actual name when they're talking.

"I'm so glad you asked me to come with you two. And meeting Jack, and Genny and Dougie, and all these adventures—I'm just...I love this life, and I wanted you to know that," she finishes, wiping angrily at a stray tear.

"Donna Noble, you are so important to us," Rose says emphatically. Holding out her hand for Donna, the two women twine their fingers together. "You're such a good friend, and seeing you and Jack so happy—Donna, I love it. Trust me, we are just as grateful that you agreed. Thank  _you_  for coming along on this mad adventure with us. I would hug you, but I think my bum may be glued to this chair," she remarks with a laugh.

Donna and Rose continue laughing as Tali and Toli come around the corner with their drinks. Smiling affectionately at the two women, they set the respective beverages next to each and thank them very much for the lovely morning. It has been one of the best they've ever had since coming to work at Midnight, and should they need anything, please call them. Assuring the men that the feelings are entirely mutual, Donna and Rose wave goodbye, appreciating the departing view of their particularly fine bums and giggling to each other like school girls.

"So our boys have been gone for what, three hours now? Do you think the busload of tourists has tied them to their chairs yet and gagged the both of them for some peace and quiet?" Donna shares, laughing into her cocktail.

Snorting, Rose has to swallow before she chokes on her own before answering, "Taking Jack was a stroke of brilliance. He charmed your mother. I don't think there's a species living that he couldn't entice to do his will."

"That's fine. As long as he isn't shagging them all, I'm happy," Donna replies with a grin.

"Ha! I…" trailing off, Rose gets a faraway look in her eyes for a second. "Hmm...that's weird."

"What?" Donna asks, curious.

"I just felt a spike of excitement and then worry from the Doctor, but now he seems fine," Rose replies a little distractedly.

"He probably found something on the telly that the locals call entertainment. Have you seen any of it? I was excited at first, too; then I was just worried at what humanity calls fun nowadays," Donna says reassuringly. Setting her drink down, she turns to get up out of her chair and give Rose a hand.

"I don't know about you, Blondie, but I'm starving. Ready to try out the new place? I think it'll be like eating on a boat. Tonight I'm not so sure about. We better eat a lot now, just in case we only wear the food later," she says with a grin, hoping to get Rose's mind off her trouble-finding husband. Jack's with him, so Donna trusts that between the two of them, whatever's happening won't be fatal.

"Right, of course. They're in a tourist bus. I'm sure you're right," Rose agrees with a chuckle. The Doctor had already said something very similar the night before, when he'd explored the media options.

Letting Donna help her up, Rose finishes her drink and leaves it on the table. Slipping her arm through Donna's they walk toward the edge of the Torus that holds DeeBop, chatting amiably.

Reaching the doors of the small dome-shaped restaurant, they discover that Dr. Ella is also waiting to be seated. Enjoining her to sit with them, Donna and Rose happily make theirs a table for three. Ella is surprised and delighted to be included.

Making their way to the table, they are seated while still settled on the floor. Once situated, the hostess pushes a button in the table's center and they float gently up to rest about three meters shy of the overhead finitoglass dome, surrounded by a view on all sides of the bleak but gorgeous landscape. Rose is amazed at how far she can see into the naked countryside. Wondering which direction the Doctor is traveling, Rose imagines his little bus making its way through the shaded canyons and across the brilliant plains she can see from her perch. It's beautiful in that way space is beautiful—clean, magnificent, and a little dangerous.

The servers flit around the tables wearing something akin to antigravity ice skates, a thin glowing line of purple light under their feet. They're obviously the highlight of the experience as they cavort in every direction to reach the guests dressed in tight skin suits that appear to change color either with their mood or completely at random. The room, at times, seems filled with multicolored moths whisking around delivering food or chatting amiably with the patrons. Food arrives in transparent sealed bubbles that pop open once placed on the table, the culinary delight still perfectly in place and delicious.

Rose decides to try their version of fish and chips. Donna, feeling adventurous, chooses one of the day's specials, and Ella orders steamed vegetables.

"Ella, I'm so glad you could join us. Thank you," Rose says, smiling at the tall doctor sitting next to her.

"The pleasure is mine. I confess to being very curious about you since we met this morning. In light of Genny's story, I am amazed that we should meet so serendipitously. She referred to you all as family but didn't elaborate. I was so astounded to meet another Time Lord after so long; I didn't wish to overstep my bounds by asking too many questions," Ella replies with her own smile to Rose and Donna.

"Well, I hope you don't mind if we ask questions, because I am dead curious about a couple of things," Donna states, placing her elbows on the table and leaning forward excitedly.

Laughing at her, Ella leans forward as well with a friendly grin lighting her face. "Not at all, friend Donna. Please ask what you will. I have my questions too. We can trade them back and forth."

"Wow, you reminded me of Dougie so much, just then. Well, okay, me first then! You said you knew of the Doctor; how's that?" Donna asks. She knows Rose's first question will be about Genny, so she picked a different one. Tucking her red hair behind her ears, Donna gazes expectantly at Ella, looking forward to her reply.

Eyes going wide and blinking a couple of times, it's obvious that's not what the doctor was expecting. "Has he told you about the Time War and my race's involvement?" Rose and Donna both nod, so she continues.

"I was in the final class to graduate from the accelerated courses specifically designed for those of us who could help the Time Lords. We'd all heard of the Doctor. Most Time Lords that were assigned Lené brought them back insane or dead. Our purpose was bigger than our lives, and we knew the dangers when we volunteered, but the Doctor brought more of us home alive and moderately intact than anyone. We all wanted to be assigned to his TARDIS," she says with a little smile, blushing at how silly it sounds now, after so long.

"I won the lottery and was assigned to him, but he never returned to the Cruciform where we were billeted. Then one day, not long after my assignment, an evacuation order came and the transmats began working well past their capacity, trying to get everyone off the station. We were being attacked by Daleks, and no one was coming to save us." Ella has a far away look in her eyes as she remembers that final day filled with bombs, the station shaking to pieces, screams, and finally, blinding light as the last of her Lené were shoved on the remaining transmat by their mentor, Thruvalan, a Time Lord medic.

The sharp transition from his blood and dirt streaked face with the last whispered "Thank you" nearly muffled by the sounds of shrieking metal, to the bright, clean and comparatively quiet receiving base back on Duat had rattled her senses. As the technicians tried to help the eight of her dozen that had made it off the space station, she heard another tech shout out that they had lost the signal from the Cruciform—it was gone.

Shaking herself, she returns to her story, smiling sadly at her two new friends. "The Daleks were attacking, and we were the last to make it off the station. It wasn't long before we heard that Gallifrey was gone and the Daleks with it. I was back on Duat, where it all started, and I had no idea what to do with myself, so I retrained in Redaction, with a specialisation in other telepathic species. I've never forgotten my time with the Time Lords and other Gallifreyans, but we never saw any of them again. It was assumed that the two enemies had annihilated themselves. I assumed this was true until I saw Genny wandering through the spaceport cantina on Coste del Centauri VI, clutching her head like it might fall off."

"Which leads to my question," Rose says, after finishing one of her truly gorgeous chips. "How did you meet Genny?  _Are you hurt?_ "

"No, I'm fine, thank you," Ella says, a bit confused.

"Don't know why I said that—just popped out. Sorry," Rose replies with a little shrug, picking up another chip. Donna gives her a look that says "wierdo" and focuses back on Ella.

"Okay, then, I mentioned earlier about being trained specifically to help the Time Lords? Well, I have an extra sense of Time, and I can see it in the energy signatures of Time Lords. It's how I was first discovered for the program. So, when I saw Genny enter the Cantina, obviously with the desire to drink herself into a stupor that would help alleviate the pain, I immediately saw what was wrong. Imagine, Rose, that your energy is contained in an egg—"

" _The square root of pi is 1.77245385090551602729816748…_ " Trailing off, Rose looks around confusedly. "Weird. I think it's coming from the Doctor, but I can barely feel him. I'm only getting the barest impressions."

"Where is he?" Dr. Ella asks, suddenly all business, sitting straighter in her chair and her gaze now laser sharp. Rose's energy is a little chaotic, but this appears to be normal for her.

"He and Jack are in one of those tin cans they call a bus on their way to the Sapphire Falls," Donna supplies helpfully, still focused on Rose.

"Oh, those transports are even more heavily shielded than the Torus. You must have a particularly strong bond to feel him at all. I'll find out if anything's happened. I'm sure it's nothing." Waving for one of the servers, Ella outlines who she is and what she needs. The young man with bright green hair zips off at top speed. "He should be back in a moment," she tells them, relaxing slightly.

"Thank you, Ella. Please continue. No reason to worry until we know there's something to worry about," Rose says with a smile, but the crease in her brow and the concern in her eyes doesn't match it.

"Yes, Genny...So, a person's energy is typically contained around them by their own bio-electrical shields, like an egg. As telepaths, we are aware of and can manipulate those shields, making them either stronger or more porous if we need to communicate." Rose nods, familiar with what she's saying. "In a Time Lord there is another layer made up of strands that wrap around them in every direction—time interacting with them. They can see it around each other, and I can see it around them. Poor Genny was being overwhelmed by all these different energies, and the egg that should have been her shields was cracked, leaking her energy. There are very few people left that could have helped her, but Tana placed me where I was needed, and I taught your daughter what she needed to stay whole." Seeing the pained expression on Rose's face and the guilt, Ella quickly moves to assuage the feelings.

"She explained about the progenitor machine and how she was created, how she fought by you, and that you were separated. There was no time for her to learn properly, Rose. It is not your fault. I was there; it was meant to be," she states with confidence, smiling at Rose. It is easy for Ella to see Genny in Rose as they get to know each other.

Rose returns her smile before pressing a hand to her forehead with a pained expression. "Ohhhh... _Now listen to me. Listen to me right now! Because you need me, all of you, if we're gonna get out of this, then you need me,"_ Rose shouts, disturbing the patrons nearest her.

Donna instinctively tries to lean over and help Rose, but her chair shifts alarmingly and she throws her arm around it to stay put, glaring at the restaurant around them. The other startled guests return slowly to their meals, but keep a watchful eye on their table.

Taking a deep breath, Rose's eyes clear as they meet Ella's, but are filled with fear _. "_ Oh God, Ella! Something's wrong!"

Just then the green-haired boy returns looking panicked as he leans down and whispers in her ear, before immediately racing off, his skinsuit shading through many different purples.

"It seems the Doctor's Crusader transport experienced some malfunction and they've dispatched a rescue vehicle. It is okay, Rose. Those vehicles are designed to withstand falls and avalanches. He and Jack will be fine, I promise. Let us get down from here, though, so we can be ready when they return. This has ceased to be relaxing," Ella states as she presses the button to return them to the floor.

Rose's last look at the landscape causes her to shiver. Where only minutes earlier she'd been fascinated by the sharp beauty of the landscape, now she can't help but see it as barren and sinister—like there's something out there waiting. Her sense of foreboding as the table slowly descends nearly overwhelms her.

Reaching the floor of the restaurant, they all stand to leave, but Rose sways on her feet, putting both hands to her head. Ella and Donna move to either side of her in support. As they move toward the door, Rose experiences more and more difficulty remaining upright. Urgently activating her palm computer, Ella demands a medical pallet be brought immediately.

"What the hell is going on, Ella?" Donna demands, worried for her friend.

"I don't know, Donna. There is some connection between what is happening to the Doctor and it affecting Rose. Her energy is even more chaotic, like it's being pulled in many different directions at once. We have to get her to the Medical Bay."

"What about the TARDIS? Shouldn't we take her there? It's her ship, and it's telepathic too. Couldn't it help?"

"Friend Donna, I don't think—"

As they exit the restaurant, Rose abruptly stands tall and rigid, her eyes wide but unseeing. Speaking almost reasonably, they hear the Doctor's words come pouring out of her mouth.

" _Mrs. Silvestry. I'm trying to understand. You've captured my speech, what for? What do you need? You need my voice in particular. The cleverest voice in the room. Why? 'Cause I'm the only one who can help? Ohh, I'd love that to be true. But your eyes. They're saying something else. Listen to me. Whatever you want, if it's life, or form, or consciousness, or voice, you don't have to steal it. You can find it without hurting anyone. And I'll help you. That's a promise. So. What do you think?"_

Abruptly, Rose screams like she's being boiled alive, scream after scream before she suddenly stops, collapsing in a limp bundle, barely helped to the floor by her frightened friends. Her eyes are open and sightless, but she continues to move her mouth like she's speaking. The pallet arrives and Ella and an orderly gently place Rose on it. Taking Rose's hand firmly in hers, Donna jogs beside the floating bed as they race back to the Medical Bay. Doctor Ella speaks into her palm computer nonstop, preparing an area for Rose.

This was supposed to be a holiday with nothing but rest and relaxation. As Donna paces with the medics, firmly clutching Rose's hand, she thinks about shaking the words, "What can possibly go wrong?" right out of that idiot alien's vocabulary.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I borrowed some dialog directly from the episode to show when the Doctor was actively focused on by the creature. In my mind this would have had a greater impact on Rose. Things are about to get real hairy. Monday's chapter is We Must Not Look at Goblin Men. Have a great weekend!


	28. We Must Not Look at Goblin Men

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Donna and Ella rush Rose to the medical bay after collapsing. The Doctor and Jack are still trapped in the tourist bus. This isn't the holiday the TARDIS crew was looking for. What's happening to Rose and the baby, and will the Doctor and Jack get back in time?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good morning! Welcome to Monday.
> 
> Rose and the baby are in distress in the next couple of chapters, and I am so sorry. If you have any triggers relating to difficult pregnancies and their possible outcomes, I completely understand if you don't wish to read the next couple of chapters. If you would like a summary, PM me, and I will tell you where I'm going without the details.
> 
> I've borrowed some of Skye's words when the creature is possessing the Doctor. They belong to the BBC.  
> Good morning! Welcome to Monday. I apologise for the weird cliffie and the difficult chapter. Wednesday's chapter is Shattered.

**28 We Must Not Look at Goblin Men**

 

Sprinting into the hospital wing of the Torus, Dr. Rilleen is ready at the entrance of a room, ushering everyone in. Donna doesn't even bat an eye at the Terelin'A'Peth, too concerned for Rose as they rush past her.

"Well, Rose, I have officially seen everything; one of the doctors is a giant beetle," Donna chatters at her, wishing for something to do, as Ella and her assistants move about Rose, pulling over scanners and devices. The monitor above the bed lights up, and immediately identifies Rose as a Time Lord as well as her vital signs. Her heart rates are elevated and her blood pressure is high, but otherwise it doesn't show any real problems.

Donna glares at anyone who even thinks about asking her to let go of Rose's hand. She has two, they can use the other one. She'll be dead before they pry her away from her troubled friend. Hearing Rose speak a little more clearly, Donna leans down trying to catch the words.

_It's inside his head_

_It killed the driver_

_And the mechanic_

"Ella! What the hell is she saying?" Donna calls out to get Dr. Ella's attention on the words. Is Rose saying the Doctor is possessed?

_And now it wants us_

_He's waited so long_

_In the dark and the cold_

_and the diamonds_

"I have no idea, Donna." Turning to the a nurse, she orders, "Record every word." The nurse hops to. "Yes, doctor!" he replies quickly, touching the monitor above Rose's head as Ella slides a smaller monitor over the bulge of Rose's pregnant belly.

_Until you came_

_Bodies so hot_

_With blood and pain_

Rose's eyes are still open and staring; tears beginning to well from them, breaking Donna's heart into a million pieces as she feels incredibly helpless.

"Come on, Rose. You have to fight this thing," Donna tells her, squeezing her hand. She has no idea if Rose can hear her, but she's not giving up on her friend. Desperately hoping that Jack isn't hurt, Donna knows that he'll do anything to keep the Doctor safe; she just prays that doesn't include permanently damaging himself.

The monitor above Rose's head unexpectedly starts making more noise as the smaller scanner above the baby begins sending it information. Trying to make sense of the data is nearly impossible for her, but it doesn't take being a doctor to tell her that the baby's in some type of distress, as well. The nurses and both doctors begin moving in a more rapid dance around Rose and Donna setting up extra tables, supplies of linen, and more medical machines.

"Friend Donna, we need to help Rose and the baby. It would assist us greatly if you could give us leave to treat her more efficiently," Ella pauses in her mad rushing, to tell Donna. The space she's taking up will be critical if they need to do anything invasive.

"That was a really polite way of asking me to move, wasn't it?" she asks hotly.

" _Please_ , Donna," Ella implores her, slipping into a pale green smock.

"Fine, but I'm not leaving the room, and if she calls for me, I'm tossing that nurse outta my way. Got it?" Donna concedes, standing up beside Ella. Her chair is immediately whisked away.

"Got it. Thank you, Donna. Rose is blessed with you as her guardian," Dr. Ella praises her, as she gently maneuvers Donna to a chair far enough away to free up the space around Rose, but still close enough to see everything.

Abruptly, Rose begins shouting, her words clear and horrifying.

_Yes!_

_Throw him out!_

_Get Rid of him!_

_Cast him out!_

_Into the sun!_

_And the night!_

_Do it!_

_Do it now!_

_Faster!_

_You can do it!_

"Oh, no you can't!" Donna shouts, shooting up from the chair and moving around the head of the bed, grasping both sides of Rose's head in her warm hands. Donna forces Rose to look at her, as she passionately shouts back at whatever is endangering her family—if it can talk through Rose, maybe it can hear her, too.

"You let them go, you crazy bastard! I don't know what you are, but you are  **not**  staying. You, get out, out of my friends!" Red hair flying, and her cheeks flushed with emotion, Donna does her best to will whatever is trying to steal her friends into submission.

_Molto Bene!_

_Allons-y!_

"Those are the Doctor's words!" Donna shouts triumphantly. "I'll never make fun of you and your stupid words ever again, you crazy alien!" Grinning from ear to ear, Donna takes in a breath to try again.

"It's working, Donna. Keep talking to her," Ella tells her desperately. She was going to restrain Donna, but it would appear she'd been about to make a mistake. The swirling chaos of Rose's energy is still out of control and the flickers of darkness are alarming, but Ella just saw her fight back.

"Come on, Rose! Give this thing what for! The rescue truck should almost be there. The Doctor and Jack will be safe. Come back to us!" Donna's fierce loyalty to her friend boils through her veins, and she catches a clear moment when she knows Rose is looking back out at her before her eyes go blank and she begins shouting again.

_The starlight waits!_

_The emptiness!_

_The Midnight Sky!_

On the bed, Rose suddenly goes rigid, mouth open wide in a silent scream—arching her back off the bed, her hands clutch the sheets as her eyes roll back in her head. Every monitor and scanner begins screaming for attention. All action in the room freezes for a second in complete shock before Ella shouts and Donna yells letting go of Rose's face, and then, in a flash of incandescent gold light, all of the people and mobile equipment are blown away from Rose, a perfect sphere of golden dust enveloping her and the bed.

The abrupt cessation of noise makes the silence nearly as deafening as the previous whining of machines and yelling. Dr. Ella and Donna pick themselves up off the floor.

" _Bad Wolf,_ " Donna says with quiet intensity.

"Doctor, what's happening?" the nurse asks.

"I am uncertain, Lorm. Check on the others, and move the equipment away. None of it will help us now," Ella tells him kindly, calming his fears with a gentle touch to his arm. He moves to follow her instructions, but keeps a sharp eye on the strangeness in the middle of the room.

"Donna, you recognise this...occurrence?" Doctor Ella has never seen anything like it. The sphere of golden light is keeping her from 'seeing' Rose's energy. Her eyes can see her, but everything else is completely blank—a solid wall between her and her patient.

"Umm...yes, but I've only seen it once. Jack told me more about it, though. Rose isn't your regular Time Lord. She was once human and traveled with the Doctor. She saved him from some Daleks at one point by pulling the Time Vortex from the TARDIS and creating some creature, or something, she called Bad Wolf. It was killing her, though, so the Doctor took it out, causing him to regenerate into our spiky-haired wonder-alien. Later, something...happened and she was trapped in a parallel universe. He found a way to get her back, but it involved another kind of Goddess or something. Anyway, Rose was sick, dying I think, and the Goddess gave herself up, or part of herself, I don't know...these stories about impossible things always get so convoluted. Anyway, the Goddess, I think she was called Spitz, no Sphynx, that's it! She gave Herself up to bring Rose over and heal her. In the process she became a Time Lord—Lady...whatever. When they got Bonded or whatever it is that Time Lords do when they marry, the Bad Wolf part of Rose spread out between both her and the Doctor. But this gold dust-light is the Bad Wolf part of Rose," Donna finally finishes, hoping she remembered everything important in her mad rush to get the information to Ella.

Donna looks over to see Ella staring at her, not in disbelief, but definitely amazed at the story. "That explains why Rose's energy signature is so strange. I had wanted to ask if she knew. I can't see past the shield of gold, Donna. I don't know what's happening beyond what we can see with our eyes. I have to try to reach her," she tells Donna matter-of-factly, her eyes trained on Rose as she hesitantly steps toward the barrier..

The object of their regard remains motionless on the bed inside the sphere of light, but she appears to have moved at some point and lies curled tightly on her side in a fetal position.

"I don't know if that's a good idea, doctor. Jack said he got zapped by it once," Donna remembers from Jack's story about Rose having to save the Doctor in his own mind. Donna has never been more thankful to be nothing more than human, than she is right at this moment.

"I have to try, Donna. There is more than just Rose at stake—"

"Oh my God, you mean the baby!" Donna interrupts. "Please, doctor, he means so much to them! The Doctor was sure he was the last Time Lord for so long. What can we do? Tell me how to help; I'll do anything," Donna pleads with her vehemently, the angry tears in her eyes shining in defiance.

"Donna, you are a true friend," Ella tells her, smiling at Donna's brave words. "I do not know what to expect, but I must try to reach her."

Dr. Ella grips Donna's shoulder in sympathy, and then moves toward the sphere, stopping before touching it. Reaching out with her mind, she is again confused at the lack of presence. The sphere is a null space, like a piece of void residing in her med-bay. Dr. Ellasiera doesn't like it. She didn't graduate at the head of her class to be rebuffed by some gold dust.

Opening her eyes, she reaches out with her hands, not quite touching the sphere. She can 'feel' the tingling of the energy that is sustaining the sphere actively pushing her energy away. In a sudden flash of insight, Ella realises that Rose is protecting them. She probably doesn't even know she's doing it—a defense mechanism. That can only mean that whatever was possessing the Doctor through this Mrs. Silvestry person, is now in Rose.

Ella steps back from the Sphere, turning to look for her assistant. Seeing Dr. Rilleen instead, she motions her over.

"Esteemed colleague, what have you discovered?" the Terelin'A'Peth doctor asks, her carapace shading mauve in concern.

"Did you hear what Rose was saying earlier?" at Rilleen's affirmative antenna flick, Ella continues, "I believe there was a creature out there, and it somehow possessed Rose's mate. We've had so few telepathic visitors yet, and those didn't go to the Falls. It may have been...attracted," she postulates a moment. Coming back to the urgency of the moment, she starts again, "It doesn't matter. What matters is, I think it traveled here through their telepathic bond. I want you to get everyone else out of here, and I want this room quarantined; full telepathic shielding. Nothing in, and let's pray that Tana lets nothing out."

"By the Maker, Ella. That is most serious, but what of you, and what of her mate? I received word that the rescue vehicle will be arriving in the hour. There were four deaths, all taken by the sun. There are some bruises but no other injuries. I was informed we should be prepared for shock and trauma from the stress. Her mate will want entry," Dr. Rilleen says through the translator, clacking her wing casings in distress and rubbing her mandibles.

Looking thoughtful for a minute, Dr. Ella considers her options. Coming to a decision, she motions Donna over to her; the decision is dire and she should be a part of it.

"Dr. Rilleen has informed me that Jack and the Doctor will be back within the hour. I am giving her leave to let them in." At Donna's relieved exhalation, Ella raises a cautionary hand, "Once they have entered, I want her to place us in a full quarantine. I cannot jeopardize the other innocents in the resort. If we have not rectified the situation in twenty-four hours or I call with the code word, we are to be exposed to the x-tonic sunlight. It will sterilise the room. Whatever is in Rose came from Midnight; it can go back to it, if the Doctor cannot find a solution. You may leave now if you wish. I believe you are unaffected."

"The hell you say! I'm not going anywhere. If that thing is in Rose, which makes sense with the way she reacted, then I'm staying. I've yelled one looney alien out of the clutches of the bad guy; maybe I can do it again," Donna states bravely, crossing her arms defiantly over her chest.

"Alright, Rilleen, you have our decisions. If Tana requires I give my life today, I have enjoyed our friendship." Carefully taking off her gloves, she holds both hands out to the Terelin'A'Peth doctor. Quivering with emotion, Rilleen extends her 'hands', and they clasp each other tightly, tipping forward till their heads just touch.

"Dearest Ellasiera, I will pray that neither the Maker nor your Tana require you or brave Donna this day. May the endeavor be fruitful. I will also pray for the Time Lords and their larva." Turning quickly away, Rilleen moves immediately toward the door, ushering everyone else out of the room. With a final look back, she flashes mauve concern across her carapace again. Exiting, the door slides shut behind her, leaving only the hum of the air units, and the almost-buzz of the golden sphere.

"Right, well, now we wait, I guess," Donna says, the exhaustion from all the recent emotional turmoil beating behind her eyes. Standing near the sphere, she tries to see clearly into it, but the chaotic spinning and drifting particles make it difficult. Donna can make out that Rose is still huddled on her side, but she can't see her eyes. Turning around, she heads to a chair and throws herself in it. Jack and the Doctor will be here soon. Hopefully whatever is happening to Rose is not affecting the Doctor the same way. No, wait. Dr. Rilleen said they were on their way back; that wouldn't be true if he was locked in a golden cocoon, too.

"Do you think she'll be okay, Ella, and the baby?" Donna asks quietly. Dr. Ella is still standing near the sphere, her naked hands hovering just over the surface.

"I have said, 'I do not know' more times in the last hour than I have since I was a small child. I do not like not knowing, friend Donna—it makes me feel helpless. As a physician, I trained to aid the helpless." Sighing, she turns to face Donna, dropping her hands to her sides. "I wish I could say unequivocally that yes, they will be fine, but I am afraid I cannot. I am sorry."

"I know what you mean about feeling helpless. I'm not any good at it either, but I usually try to hide it by upping the volume. I don't think that would work here." The wry confession pulls a small smile to Ella's face as she looks over to Donna. Seeing how tired she is, Ella gets up to make her and Donna a cup of coffee. Handing the steaming cup to her, Ella has a question.

"Since we must wait for the Doctor and your Jack, would you tell me about your Tanu friend, Dougie?"

Smiling and snorting a small laugh, Donna nods in agreement. "You'd like him. We met on Earth, in Canada of all places, where he was masquerading as a short red-headed human named Dougie McPherson. His real name is Dugron, but being called Dougie made him feel naughty, so he kept it. He told us that when he changed right in front of our eyes. I may have been a bit tipsy, but I remember the Doctor looking like he'd received a hundred birthday presents at once. Then he called him a Tanu, and…"

Donna and Ella do a passable job of pretending everything is fine for the intervening minutes as they wait on the Doctor and Jack. Talking about Dougie makes Donna miss him terribly, but the amazement and happy exclamations that Ella makes through the story help keep them both distracted from whatever may be happening on the other side of an impenetrable wall of gold light.


	29. Shattered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor and Jack finally make it back. Donna and Ella are fighting for Rose and the baby. Rose is fighting to save everyone. Something will have to give.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the chapter my friends, where it all changes. Midnight has turned out to be a very unforgiving place. Eventually it will get better; I promise, but today is a rough day for the TARDIS crew. Again I mention, if you have any triggers about difficult pregnancies and their possible outcomes, this may not be the chapter for you.
> 
> I'm sorry, so, so sorry.

**29 Shattered**

 

Donna has just started telling Ella about the Ood Sphere when the door slides open, Jack and the Doctor rushing in. Behind them the door closes, and they hear several large booms and a sealing of air as the room is locked and placed in quarantine. Donna knows it isn't physical, but she's sure the air in the room just became more still and heavy, like a weight pressing in on them.

Jack shadows the Doctor protectively as they enter. Donna and Ella have barely noticed him, arrested as they are by the sight of the Doctor's eyes glowing gold, and an expression that once quelled Satan himself etched on his face. Standing in front of the sphere a moment he gazes fixedly at Rose, trying to reach their bond. Finding himself still unsuccessful, the Doctor turns back to Donna and Dr. Ella, causing them to jump a little under his unsettling gaze.

"I need to reach my wife," he states flatly.

"I have been unable to make contact with her, Doctor. I cannot feel her with my mind, and her energy repulses me. What happened out there?" Doctor Ellasiera asks, not at all liking the feel of him or the darkness swirling through his own energy. His shields are so tight he's almost as invisible psychically as his wife.

"A psychic creature of some kind found a way into one of the passengers. In trying to figure it out, it took me, and I couldn't stop it." His eyes close in pain at the memory. It's obvious that he's done nothing for the past hour and a half but tear into himself over the events.

"The passengers tried to get at the Doctor, but that wasn't going to happen," Jack states fiercely. Finally looking at him, Donna sees the black eye that's forming and the small cuts around his mouth and eyes. He had fought hard for the Doctor. "I thought we were safe when the attendant figured out what happened and sacrificed herself, taking the creature with her."

"But she didn't. Instead two more innocent people died," the Doctor spits out angrily before continuing, turning back to stare at his affected wife, "It must have felt my bond to Rose, and when it shut me down, it was able to leap through me to her once it realised it had been found out. I felt it. I tried to hold it, but I couldn't. It slid through my mind like oil and directly into Rose. She's saving everyone right now and doesn't even know it."

"I discovered that she was protecting us and the rest of the resort when her energy was keeping me out. It is why I had Dr. Rilleen lock us in quarantine. If she does not hear from us in twenty-four hours, or I do not call with the password, she will expose the room to the sun," Ella tells him clearly, moving up beside him and the sphere.

Seeing the Doctors together, and not distracted by his disconcerting eyes, Donna finally throws herself at Jack who holds her tightly to himself despite the groan of pain he inadvertently makes.

"I knew you couldn't be trusted to go anywhere on your own," she tells him, crying into his shoulder; the scent of her Jack helping to calm some of her nerves. His, "I know," is muffled by her hair. Pulling back to kiss her gently, he looks down at her lovingly, drinking in her face and the light in her eyes regardless of her tears. There had been many tense minutes on that bus when he wasn't certain he would ever see Donna again. Now, that they'd made it back, he feels desperately worried for Rose and the baby, but having Donna in his arms helps.

"If it wanted a telepathic person, why didn't it go for the Doctor right away, or you?" Donna asks, trying to understand.

"It's not about telepathy," the Doctor answers, his back still to them. "I think it liked Skye Silvestry's fear. She was having a panic attack when things started to happen. I think it feeds off fear or strong emotion. But being a creature of pure thought, it is so much more than merely telepathic. I didn't realise that. It took me like you could pin a butterfly to a board, and because the passengers were afraid, it discovered that they'd be more afraid of me than Skye. So it hid in her, and used me like a marionette." The bitterness in the Doctor's tone scares Donna. He's standing in his rumpled suit, vibrating like a wire so taut it might break, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his trousers; and Donna doesn't like it. She has to do something to break him out of this...hesitation.

"Doctor, this isn't your fault; you didn't know. Just fix this. Figure out a way and get to Rose. You're both all Bad Wolf-y; maybe she'll let you in," Donna tells him gently, pushing him to not wallow in self pity. There are still people to save.

Turning his dreadful eyes on Donna, the Doctor actually smiles, and a real smile too. " _We're both Bad Wolf-y_...Donna Noble, you are brilliant! What would I do without you?" he asks rhetorically, turning back to the golden mist and sliding his hands from his pockets.

"Get in even more trouble," she mutters under her breath. Jack bumps shoulders with her in commiseration, and she takes his hand in hers as they watch the Doctor raise both hands and begin humming softly.

Dr. Ella watches him, fascinated. She is 'looking' at him exclusively with her mind at this point, completely amazed at what his energy is doing. She ignores the wrapping strands of time; they are so thick around the Doctor that they would obscure him from her 'sight'. Only seeing his personal aural energy, she watches as it coils tightly about him, thousands of tiny blue filaments reaching out to touch the wall of Rose's protective sphere as he hums. One of the filaments finds a way through and glows more brightly. Focusing on it, he tunes his hum to what must be the correct frequency, because in a flash of gold, he steps through and into the sphere, instantly rushing to Rose's side.

* * *

Upon reaching her, the Doctor takes Rose's hand in his, still feeling the buzz of the golden fire around them. Inside it feels different, colder; Rose is colder. Suddenly, in a moment of possible understanding, the Doctor stretches out for Rose and their Bond. Feeling the Bond flare to life, the Doctor reaches further, looking for Rose...and their son.

Falling into Rose's mind is not what he expected when reaching for her. Before, her shields had been so strong, they'd kept him out effortlessly. This time, there is no resistance. Falling all the way to her Foyer, he picks himself up, looking around. The last time he was here, it was brightly lit, covered in vines and beautiful. Now, he can just make out the vines, but the space is dark and hollow, a poisonous heaviness hanging in the air around him. Not seeing Rose immediately, he walks forward, calling for her.

It feels like miles to him, but eventually he sees a glimmer of light and wills himself to the illumination. Arriving at the door to a barren room of stone in an instant, the Doctor sees within his naked and shining wife huddled in a corner, cradling a bright luminescence to her chest. Around her is a pulsing fibrous mass of black that is actively pulling her brightness into itself. Even in the few seconds he's watched, the Doctor can see the light in her arms dimming, her repeated "No, no!" landing like blows against his hearts. The creature is feeding off his wife's fear and her life-force as Rose tries to pour herself into their son.

Feeling something click in his own mind, the Doctor steps into the room with an incoherent roar. Tapping the deadly golden energy within himself, he reaches for the black tendrils.

Hearing his bellow, Rose's head snaps up and her own Bad Wolf energy flares to life. Still clutching the spark to her chest, Rose and the Doctor both reach for the inky limbs of the unknown creature together.

Each grasping a part of the thought-beast where it surrounds Rose, it begins to writhe and twist in an attempt to dissipate or escape. Spreading out from both their hands, a golden light pulses along the filaments, branches, and roots of the unknown creature. Stronger together than they are apart, the combined wills of the Doctor and Rose encompass the mass, and in one shining, screaming instant the mystery is no more. It will never be learned from, never be understood; it is only gone.

* * *

Outside, the sphere of golden mist suddenly flares to a point that Ella, Jack, and Donna have to cover their eyes. Feeling a silent pop, they squint toward the bed and see the sphere gone. The screams of the main monitor and the secondary scanner suddenly fill the room with their harsh tones, announcing the wrongness of the situation.

Rushing to Rose's side, Ella tries to move the Doctor, but he's locked to Rose's hand, rigid and tense, unhearing as he's still completely focused within his wife.

Looking at the patterns their energy is making, Ella sees exactly what has happened. Rose is hemorrhaging energy, and the Doctor is trying to plug the leak with his own, but more worrisome is the baby. Energetically, he's almost gone. Snapping back to the physical issues, she sees the monitor showing severe placental abruption, and the bed around Rose is red with her blood. Screaming her password into the computer in her palm, she orders their immediate release and a full surgical prep—she can't save their child, but if she doesn't hurry she might lose them all.

Leaning in, she takes a deep breath, apologetic for the intrusion. Placing a finger against his temple Dr. Ella pushes the situation into the Doctor's mind, willing him to understand.

Donna and Jack stand rooted, wrapped in each other's arms, watching as the team bursts through the opening door and leaps to the task of saving Rose and the Doctor. Feeling helpless, all they can do is wish and pray that they aren't about to watch their family be torn apart.

* * *

Collapsing to the floor of the room in her mind, Rose can barely sit up. The Doctor rushes to her side, cradling her to him, rocking her back and forth, feeling the cool smoothness of her skin beneath his palms.

"I've got you. I'm here now. I love you so much, Rose. I'm so sorry." The words pour out of him as he looks down on his wife. Blinking up at him, Rose tries to smile, but she's too exhausted, her eyes cloudy and unfocused.

"I saved him, Doctor. I wrapped him up tight and kept him safe...see?" she says softly in a dreamy sort of voice—delirious. Opening her hands, she shows the Doctor the little spark of light nestled in her palms—a tiny green moth, trying to open his wings.

Repressing a sob and knowing that she doesn't yet understand, the Doctor tries to reach his wife.

"Rose, my precious girl, look at me, my love." When she doesn't and continues gazing at the little moth in her hands, he shakes her gently. " _Rose_ , look at me!"

Slowly, almost painfully, Rose tears her eyes from the struggling moth and locks her gaze to her husband's. "You have to let him go, Rose. He's already...gone. Rose, you have to let this piece go," he tells her, willing her to understand and desperately trying to hold himself together beyond the burning behind his eyes and the tightness in his chest.

Blinking again, her gaze clearing, Rose looks back at the Doctor and around the room, eyes wide and more  _here_  than she'd been before. "Doctor! Where are we? There was this thing, and you were gone, and I couldn't stop it, but I had to...I had so little time to..." Trailing off as she looks for explanations, Rose looks at what's resting in her cupped hands and begins trembling. "Doctor—"

"I know, Rose. I know. There was nothing we could do. I was gone too long, and we had to be together... _Rose!_  I am so sorry!" he sobs out, clutching her to his chest. Gasping more words into her hair, his eyes slam shut on the tears as they pour down his face, dampening the blonde strands. "I couldn't stop it from reaching you. I tried so hard."

"I know. I felt you. But our baby, he's gone, isn't he?" Rose's voice sounds hollow, but it's clear, and that worries the Doctor even more. Leaning back again, so he can see his wife's face, the lack of emotion stuns him. He's just about to answer her, when he feels Dr. Ella reach out for him. Receiving the block of information makes his blood run cold.

"Rose, look at me, darling." When she finally does, he sees the deep well of sadness, and the desire to not go on that Ella just warned him about. This is not his Rose looking at him with dead and despairing eyes; it is some hateful leftover piece of fear and doubt from the creature they'd just ended.

"Rose! My precious pink and yellow girl, you can't go—not now, not like this," he tells her desperately, willing her to hear him.

"But Doctor, it killed our baby," Rose says tonelessly. Frantically pulling himself together, the Doctor must make Rose understand.

"Yes, and it was trying to kill you too. And if you hadn't stopped it, it would have killed Jack and Donna, and Dr. Ella, me, and everyone else on the planet. And if it left the planet, who knows how many more it would have killed, maybe even Genny." That sends a spark of his Rose through her eyes.

Looking down at her hands she stares for a long minute at the fading, flickering light of the little moth that represents their son. "He was going to be so beautiful, Doctor."

Seeing the tears begin trailing down her cheeks, the Doctor hugs her to himself in relief for a moment before tilting her eyes up to his own tear-filled ones. "Yes, he would have been magnificent. But Rose Tyler, if this young soul is meant to be our son, we'll meet him again. For now, let's let him go. Do you remember when I thought the TARDIS was dead on Pete's world, but we found that one power crystal?"

Nodding, Rose is past speaking as tears course down her cheeks, and her throat clenches around the heaving sobs that she's trying to hold in. Cupping his hands around hers, the Doctor leans close, waiting for Rose. Understanding, she leans forward too, and reaching within herself, she pulls a little of the Bad Wolf forward. Along with the Doctor, she blows a shining bit of energy across the flickering moth. Flaring brightly, they both feel a featherlight touch brush across their thoughts, and then the light is gone—their hands empty.

Rose falls back into the Doctor's embrace bonelessly. Mutually they clutch each other, grieving for their loss. Not wanting to let her go either, but feeling the exhaustion of her physical trauma taking its toll on her, the Doctor holds her and soothes her, encouraging Rose to sleep. He knows once she lets go, she'll be in a healing coma for a few days.

Feeling the shift in her energy as she gives in to the exhaustion, the Doctor slips out of Rose's mind and into a room filled with the people that have been saving his wife. Shattering what reserve he has left, the Doctor comes a bit unglued.

" _ **OUT**_!  _Everyone out_!" he shouts, both hands gripping the railing next to Rose, his shoulders hunched and shaking.

Dr. Ella and Dr. Rilleen's staff all come to a screeching halt in their tasks. Looking to the doctors, they receive nods. They were already packing up the instruments and removing the extraneous machines anyway, so they undertake their tasks more quickly, clearing out the rest of the soiled sheets and any other visible signs of the ordeal they had just been through, not knowing they could do nothing to remove the scent of his wife's blood from the air.

Dr. Rilleen's carapace is a deep and shining blue. Whistling her sorrow to the Doctor, she bows slightly to him and takes her leave with the rest of the nurses from both teams. A mere couple of minutes after his outburst, only Jack, Donna, and Dr. Ella remain in the room.

Squeezing Jack's hands, Donna slips from his embrace and moves to stand next to the Doctor.

"Donna, please…" he chokes out, unable to finish the sentence. Donna grasps his hands and pries them from the railing. Unresisting, he lets her turn him toward her, and she wraps herself around him, hugging him tight, not saying a word. The Doctor stiffens for a second before he clasps Donna to him, sobs wracking his body now that it can respond to the pent up emotions that are raging through it. Jack joins them just as the Doctor's knees give out and Jack helps all three of them to the floor. Wrapped around the Doctor, Jack and Donna do their best to help their wounded friend in his grief, adding their own to the mix.

Dr. Ella leaves them once she's decided that Rose and the Doctor are energetically stable. Exiting the med-bay, she leans against the wall outside, suddenly overcome by her own inner turmoil. Sliding to the floor, Ella rests her head on her crossed arms, silently weeping for the lost young life—the small hope for a nearly extinct species. She did the best she could medically for them, but was it ever enough, when you as the physician are unable to save everyone? Emotionally, they will both be devastated, but they will survive; sometimes that has to be enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was an extremely difficult chapter to write. It's never easy to hurt the characters that you have come to love and care for. But as Layla Crimson, Ashlanielle, and Veritascara (my incredibly helpful Beta for this segment) have told me; a good story requires conflict. I've actually had this planned the entire time in one form or another, but I surprised myself just now in tearing up again as I did a final re-read. I know you may not 'like' it, but I hope you continue to stay with me. There's more story to go. It'll be a bit before everything smoothes out, but it does get better. Thanks for sticking with me, and I hope to see you on Friday with To Everything There is a Season.
> 
> Reviews and thoughts are always welcome and further the inspiration. My thanks to Solar_np for their review!


	30. To Everything There is a Season

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As far as the Doctor is concerned, Midnight is a death trap. He needs to shut it down and get Rose back to the TARDIS.

30 To Everything there is a Season

 

Dr. Ellasiera did indeed have more experience with Time Lords than most any other person alive. Upon returning briefly to her quarters to change into something that didn't smell like Rose's blood and amniotic fluids, she also had the med-bay's air filtered and completely changed over. She's just leaving when she receives an alert that there's an issue in Rose's room. Sprinting around the central pool in an all-out dash toward the hospital section, Dr. Ella slides to a stop when she sees the Doctor arguing with Dr. Rilleen, an unconscious Rose in his arms and Donna and Jack to either side of him, looking mutinous.

"Doctor! My apologies for not being here, but Rose is barely stable. Should you be moving her so soon?" Dr. Ella asks, patting Rilleen's shoulder to calm her, but looking askance at the the Doctor. Spreading her 'hands' in apology, Dr Rilleen is quivering in agitation, her carapace flickering between the orange of annoyance and the blue of mourning.

"My wife will  _not_  wake up on this planet," the Doctor states, absolutely no room for negotiation in his tone. "I have all the same, if not newer and better, equipment on my TARDIS. I will settle Rose, and then have a little discussion with the board. But we are leaving this planet; it's taken enough from us."

The Doctor stalks off, Rose held protectively to his chest. Jack follows after a nod from Donna. She understands that the Doctor is hurting, but Ellasiera is the reason why Rose is alive. She deserves to be treated better than the Doctor is capable of at the moment.

"Ella, I want to…" Donna pauses to take a breath and wipe at her face again. "This is hard on everyone, you included. I want to thank you for everything you've done. I'm not entirely sure the Spaceman would have survived without Rose," Donna shares, gazing at the retreating backs of her friend and her lover.

She follows Donna's gaze, also watching the two men leave. "He would not have, friend Donna. Their energetic center is spread between them. When their time comes, it will come together; whether it is from age or disaster." Ella shifts her gaze back to Donna, at the woman's surprised gasp.

"I guess I should have known that. They've said as much, but I guess I think like a human, and we aren't like that. Seems kind of extreme, you know. Are all telepathic species like that?" she asks, wondering how any of them survive.

"No, no we are not all like that. I believe we may all have the potential for that sort of bond, but it is extraordinarily rare. My people do not engage in it, and as I far as I know, the Time Lords didn't either. It may be unique to the Doctor and Rose."

Barking out a small laugh that is half sob, Donna says, "Again, not surprised. They can't do anything like the rest of the universe; always have to be special, those two," Donna manages a small smile at her quip, even as a stray tear falls from her reddened eyes. Wiping it angrily away, she has a warmer, though watery, smile for Ella as she steps up to the Lené doctor, embracing her.

"I don't know what any of us would have done without you. Thank you so much. I'm sorry for the abrupt departure." Squeezing Ella's arms, Donna turns and follows after Jack and the Doctor. The TARDIS is parked near the shuttle bay, but she needs to stop by their rooms and gather their belongings.

Dr. Ellasiera watches Donna veer off toward the visitor's quarters and guesses the reason. She has worked at this facility for nearly five years with only a few minor medical cases. For the most part it is a band-aid and pain-killer sort of job. The income is spectacular, but that never mattered to her. Feeling suddenly disenchanted with everything about Midnight, Ella wanders back to her own suite wondering what her future might hold.

* * *

This isn't the worst day of the Doctor's life, but it ranks right up there. As he makes his way back to the TARDIS, he questions all his decisions, blaming himself for the day's nightmarish outcome. Why did he ever bring Rose to this planet? Why had he been so bloody sure he could help Skye, even after he realised her problem was more than just hysterics? Why couldn't he stop the creature? Why couldn't he save their son? Why...why...why?

It doesn't really matter that some of the questions have logical answers; logic is for the mind—it cannot soothe the heart that is broken.

The Doctor is so wrapped up in his thoughts and recriminations, that he doesn't hear Jack following him or notice that he has been standing in front of the TARDIS, motionless, still holding his unconscious wife, for several minutes. Jack's gentle hands on his shoulders startle him to awareness.

"Don't touch me!" he snaps, too aware that his own emotional control is maintained by the merest of threads. Being a touch-telepath, the last thing the Doctor wants at this moment is to feel anyone else's thoughts, feelings, concerns, or needs.

"It's okay, Doc," Jack replies with infinite patience, instantly removing his hands. "I just need to reach the doors, and then I can let us in. That's all. Promise."

The Doctor realises that Jack's just trying to help, so he grits his teeth, closes his eyes, and takes a step back so Jack can reach the lock with his key. Hearing the door open, the Doctor is about to take his first step forward when he hears Jack's exclamation.

"Holy Mother of Macra, She's changed the Console room, Doc!"

Reaching for his ship, he asks if this was really necessary, not even opening his eyes to take in the alterations yet.

**_~Yes, my Thief. It was time~_ **

The rest of Her reply is wave upon wave of sadness, grief, regret, support, but most of all love. The Doctor feels Rose relax further in his arms under the onslaught of sentiment for them as he steps through the door and into the most magnificent ship left in the Universe.

Mouth falling slightly open in awe, the Doctor's mind stills as he takes in the remodeling. She obviously designed this upgrade around Rose. It isn't exactly feminine, but it certainly isn't the careless, utilitarian but cozy clutter it had been since...well, truthfully, since he fought in the war. He had modified it a bit when he regenerated into his last body, but it stayed more or less the same—exposed cables, functional, but industrial grating, and his worn, slightly cracked, oft repaired with whatever was lying around, console. He loved that console. But this, this is his ship in Her full regalia. She hasn't been so lovely since he'd indulged in the Edwardian interiors of his Seventh and Eighth selves.

The colour-scheme is the same, soft topaz and a watery aqua green. The colours have always reminded him of Rigel, but he hasn't thought about it in ages. Seeing Her tricked out with a fresh desktop, highlights the memory of deep sunlit oceans and the delightful mer-people.

The ramp leading up appears now to be a polished metal in golden brass. It slopes past a similar array of coral pillars, but those pillars are no longer merely functional, with the minimum number of supportive splits to the arches. Now, they're celebrating the organic nature of the ship regrowing Herself. Twisting, weaving, and branching out, they create a canopy of golden-orange art-nouveau supports cradling a new dome surrounded by a bezel with his and Rose's full names, carved in the intricate dots and circles of Gallifreyan—a vista containing the Rose nebula swirling within. The roundels that he's so fond of, and were common to all TARDIS, are nestled in seemingly random patterns amongst the twined trunks of the coral struts embedded into the walls.

As the ramp meets the floor surrounding the console, it gives way to a latticework of gold metal and glass, which is both elegant, and as far as he can see, still functional in the placement of the necessary access points. Around its periphery are set several jump seats within the newly artistic railings; all fresh, and from the bottom of the ramp, appear to be upholstered in dark green velvet—no more foam, zip-tied around the railings.

The console itself is a marvel unlike anything he could have imagined. It appears to be all metal and glass or crystal with actual buttons, panels, and levers; one of them in lieu of his bicycle pump (Einstein gave him that bicycle pump).

Instead of the usual central trunk, with the console itself arrayed around it, this one is the inverse—with the controls turned inside in three separate console portions, so it's easier to pilot alone. The Time Rotor is ingeniously split into three main pillars, separated within the three new sections of the console. Like some of Her earliest desktops, the Rotor doesn't extend all the way to the ceiling, but stand as two meter high shafts that the rotors themselves can move within when in flight. Standing within the controls; it never occurred to him that this was even an option, but it would relieve some of the stress while flying. Obtusely, the thought that he'd enjoyed that bit of chaos and would miss it, floats through his mind as in shock, the Doctor remains rooted in place, barely a meter within the door.

A sudden and explosive " _What the hell_?" from Donna startles both men, who turn to stare at her standing in the open door of the TARDIS, arms laden with the rest of their belongings from their rooms.

Wide-eyed, Donna takes in the changes. She'd previously thought the bigger-on-the-inside time machine impressive, but the idea that She could change Her entire interior plan, had never occurred to her. And She hasn't just changed, She's created a space that is so very Rose and the Doctor—a manifestation of how they are together, strong and beautiful.

The Doctor shrugs towards Donna and turns away, continuing his way to the interior of the ship, uncertain as to what other changes await. Jack steps to Donna's side, relieving her of some of the bags.

"I guess She was bored?" Jack asks, still amazed and confused at the scale of the alteration.

"Of course She wasn't  _bored_ , Dumbo! She did it for Rose," Donna says sarcastically, feeling the rightness of her intuition and receiving a little warm hum in reply from the TARDIS.

" _What_?!" is her reply from both men as they turn back to look at her.

"The TARDIS, She did this for Rose." Donna sees that neither man understands, and the bleak exhaustion on the Doctor's face pulls at her heart. Taking pity on them, Donna chooses to explain rather than wait for the reasons to dawn on them.

"The TARDIS knows what happened, right?" She gets a nod from the Doctor when she looks his way. "Well, She's changing some of the reminders, to help Rose. The newness will give her one less thing to focus on, once she wakes up. That would be my guess," Donna finishes.

They all look up as the TARDIS flashes her lights in agreement.

"See," Donna sasses, throwing her hands in the air. Walking up the ramp towards the Doctor, Donna makes shooing motions, encouraging him along. "Go on, Spaceman. The sooner you put her to bed, the sooner we can be off this rock, and the sooner you can join her."

He nods absently and leaves. The Doctor can hear Jack come up the ramp behind him, and their quiet voices as he wanders further into his ship.

His mind is utterly wound up in the comatose woman resting in his arms. She isn't heavy; he could carry her for eternity. But he'd been unable to  _protect_  her...or their son. And this makes the very air he's moving through heavy and cloying. The Doctor feels like he's fighting for every step.

So lost is he in his thoughts that he's well down the path toward his mother's fountain before he notices where he is. Stopping in his tracks, he reaches for the TARDIS.

/ _What? I just want to take Rose to bed. Does everything have to be so damn difficult today?/_

They both know his sharp tone is circumstantial, but he doesn't really care, not today. Darling, on the other hand, simply sends him a wave of encouragement. Feeling too tired to argue or turn around, he continues slogging down the path. The coral-coloured sky and the red-leaved trees might as well not be there for the amount of attention he pays them.

As he turns a bend in the path, he can hear his mother's fountain. Rounding another curve, he sees the glade. Nestled in the trees nearby is a little cottage, very Snow White with its curving thatched roof, stucco, and round windows. He can't help the tiny bit of a smile that turns up a corner of his mouth at the cute little bungalow—Rose will love it. Well, he hopes she'll love it.

The TARDIS has gone out of her way to help. The Doctor tries not to dwell on the fact that Her awareness of all Time and Space means that in some part She knew all along what could happen. Days like this, filled with loss and guilt, aren't made any easier with a lifetime's awareness of the peculiarities of Time. He can't let himself wallow too long in recrimination and self-pity, not while Rose still needs him.

Walking through the open door, the Doctor takes in the little suite of rooms. It's light and airy, open and designed in shades of rose and pale green. There is none of the blue and gold of their regular bedroom, and not a speck of alien tech—or a circle, dot, or arch of Gallifreyan writing. It is a very warm and human abode, an escape from the cold reality of the universe outside.

The Doctor lays Rose on top of the covers, removing the hospital gown, and bathing her gently from a bowl of warm lavender scented water the TARDIS materialised for him, removing the last traces of Midnight, the Med-bay, and its scents of trauma and despair. He wraps her in a warm robe and tucks Rose lovingly between the covers.

He sits beside her for a long time, watching the rise and fall of her breath, listening to the twin beating of her hearts. The Doctor can feel the low warmth of their Bond, but it's dormant while Rose heals. There's no way of knowing how long she'll be in the healing coma. He desperately wants to curl up around her and sleep—forget everything they've just lost to wander in the sweet fields of dreams.

Closing his eyes in exhaustion, the Doctor leans over, cradling his head in his hands, resting his elbows on his knees. His senses are immediately assaulted with scents from his own misadventures—peanuts, Skye, blood (his and Jack's), all mired together with odours of frightened Humans trying to grab at him.

His blood pounding in his ears and nausea building, the Doctor leaps off the bed, running to the bathroom, flinging away articles of clothing as he goes. He finds the shower on and nearly scorching in its intense heat, exactly what he wants. Overwhelmed with the sensations, memories, and guilt for the ill-fated trip, the Doctor can't spare a thought to thank his attentive and longest friend—the TARDIS.

The Doctor stands under the pounding and almost torturous spray, trying to let some of the hurt and anguish wash down the drain with the last of the physical bits left over from the ordeal. He can't stop spiraling through how light-hearted the morning had been before everything fell apart, then  _finally_  making it back to nearly die along with his wife, still losing their son in the process.

He's lost so much! And Rose—hasn't she given enough to the universe that they should have at least an astronomical moment to live and love? Abruptly overcome by his own rage, he beats himself against the interior of the shower, tearing and ripping at the tiles with his bare hands, punching and straining against the fixtures; howling in his fury.

After only a couple of minutes, like a switch being flipped, he drops to the floor of the shower, curling around himself, sobbing for a very long time. The water washing away the blood from his new scrapes as well as his tears.

The Doctor refuses to acknowledge the passing of time but eventually places a palm against the wall, thanking his ship, who turns off the water. Dragging himself out of the shower, he gingerly pats himself dry, feeling a little stupid for injuring himself, but still hollow—so empty. He can feel the hole between his hearts pulling at him, begging for more release—raging at him to give in to the wrath, to become destructive.

Without Rose in his life, he may have. He could see himself getting to the point where the darkness would take over—where the man who cares would become the man who takes, warping the laws of reality to fit his whims, instead of protecting it. The Doctor remembers very well the despair and madness that tinged the time after he lost Rose. Without her miraculous return, what would he have done?

It would have taken time for the darker man to emerge. He would have comforted himself with a new companion or two, trying to move past Rose; but she was so much a part of him-it would never have worked for long. He was still too damaged after the War. She was the first ray of light that pierced the void growing between his hearts. She kept it at bay. But with her abruptly gone, the creeping malignance rose even higher. It was only the merest hope that he could find a way back to her that had kept him sane. Without her stability he would have fallen, and who knows what he would have become—perhaps even fulfilling the prophecy of becoming the Valeyard.

He shakes his head to clear it of these thoughts. Standing naked next to the bed, the Doctor stares down at his wife's sleeping form. His every breath, every beat of his hearts, every world saved, every evil vanquished is possible because of this one pink and yellow former-Human. No wonder he had wandered the universe for centuries, always alone in the deepest part of himself. His soul's mate was born a mere quarter century ago among his favourite species. Oh, the universal irony—if she were a Time Lord, he would have either destroyed her, or she'd be locked away. Instead, here she is, helping him fix the universe, one puppy, civilisation, and mystery at a time.

Today was one of the worst, but they'll get past it. They'll grieve together, but they'll move on. Eventually, maybe after a couple of decades, they'll try again. Rose will make a brilliant mum, and he can't wait to bounce little Roses around on his shoulders. He just hopes she'll feel the same...eventually.

The Doctor kneels down to kiss her brow softly. Standing again, he gazes at her for another long moment before turning back to the rest of the room.

The TARDIS thankfully removed all the previous clothing from the floor while he was in the shower. Seeing a wardrobe between the windows, he steps to it, pulling the doors open. Within, he sees two suits; one of them stops his breath and tightens a band further around his chest. Beside his usual brown suit with its sassy and completely ridiculous blue stripes, is a new one. This suit is the blue of Gallifreyan mourning, striped with the burnt orange of his planet's sky. How like the TARDIS to provide him with a choice.

Releasing the breath even his respiratory bypass is screaming for him to let out, the Doctor reaches for the blue suit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for your continued readership! The kudos and reviews mean a lot. :-)
> 
> I chose the title of this story for a very specific reason that I am crafting, and we aren't even there yet. But, before everything can smooth out again, the path is strewn with thorns. It won't get worse, but we aren't to the better part yet either. 
> 
> Monday's chapter is To Every Purpose Under Heaven. See you then!


	31. To Every Purpose Under Heaven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor needs to talk to the administrators of the Leisure Palace Company, Jack and Donna seek comfort, Ella seeks direction. The TARDIS has a plan.

**31 To Every Purpose Under Heaven**

 

The Doctor exits the Gallifrey room, finally allowing himself to note that nearly three hours have slipped by since he'd passed through the door carrying Rose—three hours longer than he'd planned to still be parked on this god-forsaken lump. He still needs to talk to the controlling board of the Leisure Palace Company. He plans on informing them, in alarming detail, what could happen if more of those creatures are out there and another passenger just happens to have a panic attack nearby. The Doctor expects this planet will be left to its own devices within the month. Xion, the unfortunate star that Midnight orbits, will just have to be admired from some other surface.

Arriving in the Console room is again a shock. Thankfully, he'll know all the controls as soon as he touches them—a perk when bonded to one of the sentient ships. Otherwise, it might take days to figure out how to get off this planet. The Doctor barely has any thoughts in his head that don't orbit the day's challenges, but he still has room in his hearts to appreciate how beautiful the TARDIS is.

Sending him sympathy and affection, She assures him that She'll watch over Rose. The Doctor thanks Her silently as he weaves between the separate consoles, marvelling at their intricacy and the clever design. It would be so easy to bury himself in the new desktop and ignore everything else—leap into the Vortex and lose himself to the quirks of his ship, drowning his grief in manufactured purpose.

Tearing himself away from that deceptively attractive line of reasoning, the Doctor heads toward the door, stopped in his momentum by Donna's unusually soft voice behind him.

"Hey, Spaceman, where're you off to?"

He freezes, shoulders clenching around his ears. The Doctor isn't sure he's ready for Donna yet. He only has so many words left, and he's saving them for the board.

His back still turned to her, the Doctor states, "I have to shut this place down. I'm going to have a meeting with the board members; Midnight isn't safe."

"Oi! That's an understatement. Is Rose okay?" The question is asked softly, almost gently. The tone is so unlike Donna, that the Doctor turns to look at her. Wrapped in a soft, TARDIS blue blanket, Donna sits curled up on one of the new jump seats. Her eyes are red and her hair mussed. From the corner of brightly patterned fabric showing at one shoulder, he sees that she hasn't changed yet or showered.

Deciding to answer Donna, the Doctor joins her at the far end of the bench. He leans forward, elbows on thighs and hands dangling between his knees. His grief and stress are etched deeply into the circles under his eyes and the tightness of his features.

"She's still resting. The TARDIS made her a special place." He says more, but it's all in body language and the haunted look she knows is swimming in his eyes, rather than his words.

Swinging around, Donna keeps the blanket wrapped around her as she reaches out to take one of his hands. He stiffens initially but then lets her have it. Donna just holds it for a moment, not saying anything, but he can feel her support without the words.

That's their Donna, always giving, whether it's a push in the right direction, a sharp word of truth, or comfort; she's very good at comfort.

"Donna..." he begins, but with a shake of her head, she cuts him off.

"Shhh...save up all those impressive words for the idgits that thought this lump a great place for a leisure anything. I don't need 'em. Jack will be out of the shower soon, then I'll have my own. We didn't want to both be gone in case you needed one of us." Squeezing his hand, the Doctor glances over to see her smile wanly at him.

She squeezes his hand again hard before releasing it, giving him the option to leave. "You might not know this, but...we love you too, Spaceman, Jack and I. And we're here; however you need us, we're here—for both of you. So, please, let us stay and help." Her eyes implore him to not dump them off on Earth at the first opportunity.

He hadn't actually thought that far ahead yet, but he can understand why she would be thinking like that; it's very like him. As much as part of him would like nothing better than to be alone with Rose for a couple of centuries in the wake of today; that's not at all what would benefit his wife. And as Io was so astute to point out, Rose is still so Human. She'll need Donna and Jack.

"You're right, Donna. Rose will need you, and I...I'll need you, too. Thank you," he finishes after a hesitant little pause.

Donna blinks at him owlishly. She hadn't expected him to agree so readily. She'd prepared several thoughtful, logical, and helpful arguments before she was willing to fall back on the tantrum she had saved up. But, no—he'd agreed.

"Are you alright, Spaceman?"

"Oh, you know me, Donna. I'm always alright." The small cough that's meant to be a laugh sounds more like half a sob.

"Is alright special Time Lord code for really not alright at all?" she asks, eyeing him critically.

"Why?" the Doctor asks, a tiny but genuine smile lifting one side of his lips.

"Because if it is, then I'm alright too."

The Doctor glances at Donna to see her eyes glistening but otherwise giving him a small smile of understanding and encouragement. Past the console and down the hall, the Doctor faintly hears the familiar tread of Jack's feet. He isn't entirely ready for more sympathy yet, so before Donna catches the sound, the Doctor stands. He gives Donna a wan smile in return and slips out the TARDIS' doors.

"Seen either of them yet?" Jack asks as he enters the Console room to find Donna waiting, still on the jump seat.

"Yeah, he just left to go talk to the people in charge of this place." The blanket falling from around her shoulders, Donna lifts both palms to her face, scrubbing at her eyelids. Threading her fingers through her hair, she looks up to find Jack standing in front of her. His eyes are soft, though he seems to be finished with his own tears for now. But he's gazing at her with such intensity that Donna feels a bit overwhelmed by the scrutiny.

"What, you plum?"

A lopsided half-smile smooths the intensity of Jack's observation at her sassy remark. Holding out his hand, Jack pulls Donna to her feet and into a bone-crushing embrace. Donna returns it just as fiercely, both of them expressing through contact what they haven't yet taken the time to say.

Taking her hand, Jack leads Donna off toward their bedroom and another shower, silently asking the TARDIS to let him know if Rose needs them while the Doctor is out. She flashes Her lights at him once in acknowledgement. He's going to do his best to make them both forget the day for a few minutes.

* * *

Doctors Ellasiera and Rilleen have just finished all the requisite incident paperwork. Sitting back from her desk, Ella takes in her surroundings—the sterile walls and industrial surfaces ubiquitous to the areas where the guests never go. This has been her workplace and her home for the past five years. Today, she loathes it.

Swivelling in her chair, Ella finds Rilleen gazing at her contemplatively, rubbing her antenna and manipulator hands together, a sure sign that she's thinking, the muddy green in the centre of her blue-edged carapace a signal that she doesn't like her own thoughts. After five years of working closely together, they have not only built a beautiful friendship, but also a knowing—an understanding of each other.

It is Rilleen that speaks first. "You, my esteemed friend, are unhappy, as are we all after the events of the day, Maker have mercy. But you feel...more?" She asks hesitantly, unsure if she's using the right words. Sometimes the translator doesn't grasp the full depth of her intentions. Luckily, being a telepath, Ella can sense the feelings that Rilleen wishes to convey. Terelin'A'Peths actively project their feelings in a mild field around themselves augmented by the release of certain hormones when communicating. It isn't an accident that Rilleen's partner is a telepath. They've made a good team.

Ella looks at Rilleen with affection and sadness, feeling the truth of her words pierce her.

"No, friend Rilleen, I am not happy, and I may have just realised that I have not been happy for some time.

"I knew this day would come, Ellasiera. You are wasted here. Much greater happenings does the Maker and your Tana have planned for you. Your leaving will sadden me and create a vacancy in my thorax, but you must go where you are led. Perhaps you should ask the Doctor. You have told me of his exploits, and your admirations were great."

"At this time? I cannot ask him such a thing! I am the last person he would wish to see in his ship," Ella says with an undertone of guilt.

"This, you do not know, Ella. I see that a great many circumstances were aligned. It is serendipitous in a way that shows the Maker's hand, that you and they were here at this time. The Universe has her own ways of aiding the Maker. We mortal beings are only presented so many opportunities, and I see this as one for you. The mother will require assistance of the variety that is your speciality. They are so few, Ellasiera, the Time Lords—the Universe will become an empty and dark place if we lose them all.

Staring at her friend openly, Ella had never conceived that she would have another opportunity to travel with the Doctor, and this time not into war. But is it opportunistic in a selfish, grasping manner to even ask? What if the real reason he hadn't returned to the Cruciform all those many years ago, was that he didn't think his new Lené was good enough. What if…

"Ella…" Startled from her self-destructive thoughts, Ella looks up sharply into the soft, deep black eyes of her friend. Rilleen lays her other 'hand' against Ella's cheek as she continues, "You are exceptional, a trait that is valued here, but under-utilised, and soon...I fear we may all be moving. Do not waste yourself on doubts; I recognise the look, my friend. Go, take what you must, but hurry. Leave me your signature key, and I will submit your resignation. Know that you will be missed, my dear Ellasiera. May the Maker bless us with continued friendship in the future." Patting her shoulder and caressing her cheek one last time, Rilleen steps back, folding her 'hands' together—waiting.

"Sut'ack`Rilleen! Tana blessed me the day we met. Your confidence in me gives me hope that you are right in this situation. I will ask the Doctor for leave to travel with him. The worst, he says no, and we move with the Leisure Palace to the next destination. There are much worse fates available. Thank you, my dearest friend for believing in me. I do very much hope that Tana will see fit for us to meet again in the future!"

Instead of the usual slightly formal leave-taking they both enjoy, Ella steps in and embraces her friend carefully. With a joy made obvious by the shining cerulean of her carapace, Rilleen returns the embrace, patting her friend on the back with her 'hands'.

Leaving the med-bay with more motivation in her step than she'd entered three hours previously, Ella pauses when she sees the Doctor enter the Torus across the distance. He doesn't see her as he moves toward the Administrative offices, his face a stern mask of purpose. The sight of him quells some of her enthusiasm as she guiltily remembers why he's still here. But it also hardens her resolve. He could have already been gone, and yet he remains...just as she'd made her decision.

Determining that the remaining time for her window of opportunity is restricted to minutes, Ella races to her apartment, throwing what little personal belongings she would hate to leave behind into a small case. She pauses, considering her wardrobe, before choosing to ignore it. Leaving her fresh skin-suit on, she throws her favourite wrap over it. The one that Rilleen had made for her as a present on her last trip home. It shades from bright aqua into the deepest purple and she's always loved it. Tossing it haphazardly around her shoulders, she grabs her case, sprinting for the shuttle bay.

* * *

Sliding into the Embarkation room, Ella looks around seeing that it is empty. It must be later in the evening than she'd realised to be so vacant. Usually this space is filled with the busy wanderings of people entering the Torus from the Landing area. She is just about to continue through one of the many doors that lead to the actual docking bays when Ella hears a singing.

She turns around, her brow furrowed to find an odd blue box sitting placidly near one wall, the placard around the top reading 'Police Public Call Box'.

The room had been empty before, hadn't it? Dr. Ellasiera walks toward the now conspicuous box slowly, unsure of its purpose. The closer she gets, Ella realises that it's the box that is singing. Suddenly remembering her time on Gallifrey, so long ago, Ella knows she's nearing the Doctor's time capsule. They were living sentient ships, capable of more than just movement through Time and Space.

Her classes had only prepared her for what she should expect from the dimensionally transitional ships—the TARDIS—the sizes of their interior spaces, the movement through space and time, but they had not delved into their singing, or their personalities.

Ella feels in the ship's Song that she is being welcomed. Its Song reminds her a bit of what it's like when she's home among her people. The tiny constant background hum is always there, but when home on Duat, it is an entire symphony, the tune composed of and by the telepathic minds of her species.

Ella senses that the Doctor hasn't returned yet to the ship. Folding herself against the side of the incongruous blue box, she leans against its surface and lets her mind wander within the Song the TARDIS is singing to her. Soon, Ella is lost in the spiralling harmonies as she sings back to the ship in the quiet of her mind.

The TARDIS, of course, knows Ellasiera. She is one of the pieces this narrow path would lead them toward. Many, many months ago when the timelines were nearly ripped apart again by the Doctor's abduction and the destruction of Chelsea 426, the TARDIS began working to find a path through the many possible pitfalls caused by the lack of Time Lords shepherding reality.

This was one of those paths. Though strewn with misery and heartache, ultimately it led to Her companions greatest happiness. Not easy by any stretch and still filled with troubles, this journey was the one that would save them. This universe still requires Time Lords, even if there are only three for now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N: Happy Monday! I am so late today, my apologies. RL got away from me this morning. I must also apologise for a complete lack of new chapters for a bit. I am not happy with what I had written. So please bear with me while I rework my direction. Many thanks to Veritascara for pointing out my loss of focus and to Ashlanielle for keeping me sane.**
> 
> **I would also like to thank everyone for the encouraging reviews. It's so wonderful to hear that your readers think of your characters like family. It make me feel like I'm doing something right with them. Thank you!**
> 
> **So, quality versus quantity. I should be back up to posting soon. I know where I want to go. I just need to string the words together to get us there. :-)**


	32. Nor Change the Tide of Destiny

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The days after.

**32 Nor Change the Tide of Destiny**

 

**Day 1**

The Doctor rounds the corner into the Embarkation room, intent on reaching the TARDIS, and jerks to a stop. Sitting with her back to the TARDIS, eyes closed and apparently humming to his ship, he sees Dr. Ellasiera. He takes in her attire and the small case by her feet and determines that she wants to leave with them.

A wave of anger, frustration, and the now ever-present grief rises in his chest like bile, pressing his lips together and furrowing his brow. He begins to take a step forward when he's stopped by the ship in question.

_**~My Thief, we need her~** _

_/No, WE do not!/_

_**~She is not my Spirit Singer, but she will help our Wolf~** _

_/Spirit Singer? Dougie? No, she isn't. But how can she help us? She couldn't even—/_

Clamping down on that line of thought, the Doctor knows better than to get into a discussion about cause and effect with his ship. In his mind he knows Ellasiera did everything in her power to save their son. And his irritatingly helpful ship reminds him that Ella is the only reason they're all alive and Jack and Donna aren't stranded on Midnight in the 27th Century—alone.

_**~This time, she will live~** _

The Doctor is just about to ask what the hell that means, but with a last wave of support, he feels his ship recede from his thoughts.  _This time, she will live?_

He takes an inadvertent step forward, and Ella's eyes snap open. She springs to her feet much faster than he would have thought possible for one so large, but she even manages it gracefully.

"Doctor, peace and welcome! Please, forgive this intrusion, I request that I may—"

The Doctor continues on his way to his ship, slipping out a key and opening the door, ignoring her. He pauses as he steps inside to glance sideways at Ellasiera. Their eyes lock and she feels the deep well of chained emotion locked behind the dark, flat eyes he trains on her. It stops her request mid-word, and she feels like she's standing at a precipice.  _Maybe this wasn't such a good idea,_  she thinks to herself.

And then he blinks.

Releasing her from his basilisk stare, he turns his gaze back to the inside of his ship. Ella watches him closely as he takes in a deep breath through his teeth. She feels as if the universe is waiting with her for the Doctor's reply. Flitting his eyes to hers again, he nods once sharply and continues inside, leaving the door open.

Ella and the universe take a relieved breath as one. Now, the lights seem brighter and the blue of the TARDIS, bluer. Quickly, she retrieves her bag and follows the Doctor into the TARDIS. She feels the same remembered excitement from so many years past, when she'd first learned of her aborted assignment. Now, finally stepping into the interior of the  _Doctor's_  TARDIS, Ella is nearly overcome by the nervous fluttering in her stomach.

Not wasting any time, the Doctor immediately moves up the ramp to the closest console, sliding his hands over the controls. The familiar tingle of the bond to his ship is strongest in these first moments of interacting with a new desktop. It isn't often that he experiences this discovery without the distracting buzz from a new regeneration clouding his thoughts. He finds the controls he needs beneath his fingers and throws them into the Vortex, not setting any specific coordinates. There'll be time for that later.

The Doctor glides back and forth between the other two consoles as he continues to familiarise himself and is impressed with the logic of the setup. All of the main flight controls are divided between the two that are closest together. The third centers around the TARDIS's own systems. He's fairly sure that he can reach the helmic regulator and the relative continuum stabiliser with his hands this time, rather than a stretched out foot.

"Oh, She's configured in the split-rotor system. I found it the most efficient, but was continually amazed that more Time Lords did not adopt it for their own TARDIS, especially later." Ella says, breaking the Doctor's reverie. He'd already forgotten Ella was there in the rush of new buttons to press and scanners to sort.

She stands near a coral pillar, lightly caressing its surface, a tiny smile on her face as she looks around, completely at ease.

"What?" he asks her in confusion, and what did she mean by later—when there were fewer Time Lords to fly working TARDIS, perhaps?

"Your TARDIS; you configured Her console for the split-rotor, and…is this still your original TARDIS—the Type 40? I am surprised you chose such a modern desktop for her."

" _What_?" How could she know which…

"My apologies, Doctor. In my studies, I had always imagined you either keeping the original stark Type 40 interiors or creating something more…Earth-like."

"Ella, how could you possibly…wait… _Ellasiera_.  _Lené_ Ellasiera… You were assigned to me!" he says as the memory slams into place, knocking loose a host of others. "I was on my way to the Cruciform when I got that assignment, but then…well, then everything went to hell. They called me back to Gallifrey, and we lost the Cruciform. Then, we just…lost."

 _This time she will live?_ The words from the TARDIS flash through his mind again.

 _Oh,_ he thinks to himself, realising that one of the potential timelines, as the final events of the Time War played out, would have been Ella's successful stint on his TARDIS, but apparently she wouldn't have lived through it. And where would any of them be now, if she hadn't survived the end of the war?

His expression is so bleak and conflicted that Ella's heart aches for him. Shaking himself, the Doctor turns back to her with a small, though genuine, smile.

"Well, here you are, then. It took awhile, and I would prefer different circumstances, but welcome. For your information, the TARDIS  _chose_  this configuration…very recently," he finishes. Pushing all the feelings that want to rush out back down, he continues after another deep breath, carding his hands through his hair.

"She's a bossy one, my ol' girl. Does what She likes most of the time, and lets me think it's my idea," he says affectionately, patting a strut. "Usually, I would tell you where to head for a bedroom, but I don't know yet. She'll lead you where you need to go. Donna and Jack are around somewhere, and I…"

He turns his head, almost like he's listening and walks away into the ship without another word. Ella watches him go, looking for and easily finding the swirling darkness in his energy patterns, the deep fingers of despair that he's constantly fighting.

Ella's seen this before, in refugees of war or disaster—the shock of living vying with the guilt of survival. She's contemplating her circumstances and how she got there, when she suddenly hears Donna's questioning exclamation.

"Ella?!"

Accepting the red-head's grateful embrace soothes some of her own unease. Donna immediately leads her off down the hall toward the kitchen, babbling away about how glad she is that Ella is there. Upon reaching the kitchen, she's rewarded with another hug from Jack who welcomes her in his own unique way, receiving a swat from his mate for his trouble. Filling the air with innocuous and safe chatter, Ella finally feels like she can relax a little. And so ends the first of many days to come.

**Day 3**

"Has anyone seen the Doctor or Rose yet?" Jack asks as he meets Donna and Ella in the kitchen. Donna hands him a cup of coffee, shaking her head in answer.

"I am not certain that Rose would have even emerged from her healing coma yet. This type of therapy affects more than just physical ailments in the Time Lords. They are almost a low grade regeneration, realigning energies and soothing psychic hurts, as well." Both Donna and Jack stare at her, amazed that she should know so much. Getting information out of Rose and the Doctor is sketchy at best. Rose is much more open, but she wasn't born Gallifreyan.

"I did a great deal of extra studying in my free time. We were not on Gallifrey long, and I wanted to know as much as possible if I was going to be effective in my assignment. Until recently, it was wholly unused information," Ella relates with a wistful smile, sensing their internal questions.

"Well, I guess that's all fine, then. I just worry about them, you know?" Donna says, holding her steaming cup in both hands, looking for comfort in the hot liquid. Jack slides his arm around her, kissing the crown of her head.

"Do not worry, my friends. The TARDIS would let us know if we were required," Ella tells them confidently, wishing she actually felt so assured.

After nodding in agreement, the trio begins discussing what they might do for the day. The TARDIS has plenty of spaces to keep them entertained.

**Day 10**

"Jack. Donna, hello."

"GAH! Really, Instantly Appearing Girl! You can't knock or somethin'?" Donna shrieks as Romana abruptly appears in the library with them. Today the tall woman is dressed in robes of brown edged in green, her dark hair loose around her shoulders. Her expression is concerned.

"My apologies, Donna Noble. I am looking for the Doctor, and I have been unable to find he or Rose for days. Where are they? We have been in the Vortex for some time."

Donna is still recovering against the arm of the sofa where they'd been reading, so Jack answers carefully as Ella races into the room after Donna's scream.

"Right, so what do you know? We're sorry we didn't think to contact you—not that I know how to do that actually. Hi Ella, it's okay—"

Turning as she hears the steps of the approaching newcomer, Romana gapes at the figure, exclaiming, "Ellasiera!"

Ella snaps to a stop upon seeing her advocate and immediately drops low in a formal bow to Romana. "Lady President! But how?"

"No longer, and I am but a copy, my dear—an engram, though I was made just before we lost Gallifrey, so I remember you quite well, though you are an initiate no longer. It pleases me to see you on the Doctor's TARDIS at last, but it doesn't tell me how." Romana spares a smile for Ella, but turns back to Jack and Donna with worry writ across her lovely features. Something is wrong, very wrong.

"Oh, Romana," Donna begins, the tears immediately filling her eyes. "They lost the baby."

"NO! That cannot be!" she cries out, her hands covering her mouth in horror. "Tell me exactly what happened," Romana demands as she clinches her fists at her sides, visibly shaking.

Donna opens her mouth, but can't bring herself to begin. Entreating Ella with her eyes, Donna sighs out a small sob when she begins what they understand of the story. Leaning back against Jack, Donna feels his warm tears dampen her hair where he's resting his cheek, as he too listens to Ella's tale.

**Day 14**

"Doc-tor?"

"Rose! I'm here, precious girl. Right here." Leaping up from the chair he'd been reading in, he hurries to her side, sitting on the edge of the bed and taking her hand in his.

Rose jerks her hand away though, her eyes going wide, a strange glint of fear lighting in them. "No! Don't touch me!"

The hurt is immediate and devastating as it flashes across his features. Carefully getting up from the side of her bed, he slides his chair over and sits back down. Rose watches him, not relaxing until he sits again.

"Where am I?" she asks. Her question has little to no inflection, the robotic quality so unlike his Rose that it gives the Doctor a shiver of dread. He pushes aside any judgment he might have to answer her questions as clearly as possible.

"The TARDIS. She made you a cottage near my mother's fountain." Reaching for their bond, he finds it nearly non-existent, only the merest thread linking them.

"How long since we…How long have I been here?" Rose can't bring herself to say anything else.

"Today is the fourteenth day since everything…happened. We're in the Vortex and you've been in a healing coma—it's...normal." The Doctor relates all the information as calmly as he can, but not feeling her through the bond makes him uneasy. He didn't expect her to be so distant when she woke up.

"The others?" Rose asks, still watching him.

He decides to try a different tactic and smiles as he replies this time, before he's interrupted. "Donna and Jack are okay. Ellasiera is also with us. Rose did you know—"

"Can you please leave?"

"What?" Her request is so out of the blue that the Doctor is uncertain he heard her correctly, and if he did…what does she mean?

Rose closes her eyes a moment, gathering her strength before she says as kindly as she seems capable of, "Doctor, would you please…just leave."

"But, Rose, I know—"

"You know nothing. Leave. Go away, and Leave. Me. Alone."

The Doctor doesn't know what's worse, the words or her never raising her voice. Rose only stares at him, her eyes glittering and dark in her too pale features, but it's like she's not really there. Her expression is otherwise vacant.

They watch each other for what should have been an awkward amount of time, but neither Rose nor the Doctor say another word.

The Doctor finally stands and goes to the window, looking out at the late afternoon sun glinting on the fountain. He doesn't know how to feel, so he opts for nothing, suppressing all the turmoil, doubt, and fear with an iron fist. Rose is right; he doesn't know. He has experienced loss—Susan, Adric,  _his planet._  But while similar, they aren't the same, and Rose isn't your run of the mill, emotionally stunted Time Lady. If she needs space, then he'll give it to her. She needs to know that he...

"Rose, I lo—"

"Don't." One word has never cut him so deeply.

The Doctor feels the TARDIS soothe the edges of the hole that Rose is slicing between his already wounded hearts. She surrounds him with a wave of support, and he finds the strength to continue despite Rose's denial.

"I love you."

Turning away from him, Rose rolls to her side, but not before he sees the first tear trace its way down her face.

She needs her time. He's been grieving and worried, scared for his bondmate for the past fourteen days. She's just woken. The Doctor stares at her back a moment before relating what he feels is important to her about the little kitchen, the TARDIS's provisions, and when (not if) she needs him, to call and he'll be there.

Without the give and take from the bond, he doesn't know if she's asleep, crying, or just ignoring him—it's maddening. The Doctor has one brief instant where he wants to grab her by the shoulder, roll her towards him, and yell that he's hurting too.

His own thought makes him feel sick. Before he can think of anything else that extraordinarily stupid, he turns and leaves the room. He pauses at the door, but Rose doesn't move at all. Leaving her to her thoughts, he exits the house, heading toward the rest of the TARDIS and his sure to be worried companions, all the way praying to anything holy that might listen to help Rose past the worst of this—help her heal.

**Day 16**

As the Lady Professor enters the study that Romana has brought her to, she can see her son standing at the large viewing window staring out onto clean dark space, the Medusa Cascade slowly turning amidst the blackness. She can tell by his posture that his grief and stress are wearing on him. Romana brought her the sad news, and they both knew he would enter the Matrix to seek one or the other of them out eventually. The Lady Professor is actually quite proud of him for making the decision to seek comfort in family so soon.

She turns back to Romana and briefly takes her hands. They gaze intently at each other a moment, knowing and understanding what the other isn't saying. Romana nods to the Doctor's mother with a small, tight smile. She returns the heartfelt squeeze and silently leaves the room. His request to see her was the first Romana had heard from him in weeks. She had refrained from searching him out herself once she knew why he and Rose were absent. As she leaves the study she created for this meeting, Romana hopes the Doctor will allow his mother to help him.

"Theta," the Lady Professor says quietly as she approaches her son silently.

"Mother, you are the only left who calls me that," he replies cooly, still staring out the window as if he could find answers in the cosmic gas clouds below.

She smiles wistfully as an image of the tow-headed boy he was in his youth races through her mind.

"Do you know why I chose to call you that as a boy?" she asks softly as she joins him at the window.

Peripherally, he sees the light from the Cascade adding green highlights to her long auburn hair as it curls loosely around her shoulders. She's dressed simply in a pale-coloured robe deeply edged in the same blue of his suit—the blue of the night sky once the sun has just disappeared for the night.

Seemingly caught off guard by the question, it takes the Doctor a moment to find an answer. "I...I guess I don't. Koschei told me once it meant death. I assumed it was a cryptic warning for me since death seems to follow me everywhere, but it never occurred to me you chose it on purpose."

His words tear at her; he sounds so defeated. "On Earth it can represent death in Ancient Greek, as I'm sure you know, but I chose it for its older meaning in Egyptian," she tells him, thinking back to the moment the word seared its way across her mind. "Somehow, Doctor, you managed to inherit our love for that one little blue planet and its treasures continue to touch us." He can hear the smile in her voice, though he has yet to look at her directly.

"It symbolised the soul to the Egyptians. You were a deeply empathetic child, caring for everyone, and you were constantly bringing home creatures that were lost or hurt. It drove the poor House nearly spare. But I started calling you Theta as a baby. You would gaze up at me with such intensity, like you understood me, like you chose me to be your mother. I never once regretted having you naturally rather than looming." She lays a gentle hand to his shoulder, and he could be made of marble for how hard and unyielding he feels. She can sense the pent up tension, and at the touch, the turmoil of his mind also becomes evident.

"My son, our Rose is experiencing the worst time in a parent's life. She—"

Taking an abrupt step to the side he shrugs letting her hand drop from his shoulder as he interrupts her, "Mother, you can stop with the lecture. Rose made it very clear that I don't understand, so how could you? I didn't come here for—"

"Theta! I understand  _because_  I am a parent," she cuts in as she turns from the window to face him. "I watched you grow into an adult who far surpassed either of your parents. It was the most joyful and terrifying process I can ever imagine experiencing." She stretches out a hesitant hand to lightly caress his cheek. "How many times did I have to stand by in Council, filled with dread, while you masterfully argued your way out of imprisonment or dispersal for 'Acts Unbecoming a Time Lord'?"

He finally turns from the window to look at his mother as she drops her hand. She stands tall and straight, just as he always remembered, but the expression of open compassion and tenderness is not one he often saw. The Doctor turns his back to the scenery, leaning against the rail in front of the window. His arms are crossed over his chest protectively, but he leans his head back against the glass, his eyes closed. Coming to a decision, she sees him relax a little.

"Mother, I can barely feel Rose even when I'm in the room with her," he confesses. "I find her staring out the window or at the fountain. Sometimes I find her out in the meadow laying in the grass staring at the sky. She's hurting and she barely says a word. I can see the hurt, but I can't  _feel_  her. I have no idea how to help her, and she's my wife!" His head snaps forward, eyes blazing as he pushes himself off the rail in frustration and begins pacing.

"Did you know, I nearly chose to raise you on Earth? I finally decided that it was too important for you to be raised on Gallifrey with the undercurrent of your people singing in your mind—no matter how difficult it would be at times." The Lady Professor steps into her son's path, stopping him and gaining his full attention. "Rose knows that you are there for her, my son. She needs time, and she may need a friend rather than a husband at the moment."

His mother's quiet words stir an idea in his mind. He can't quite grasp it yet, but he allows her to lead him to a small table set with tea away from the window, hoping it will materialise.

**Day 18**

"I don't know what to do, Donna! I've tried everything. Now she's had the TARDIS hide the door from me!" The Doctor throws his hands in the air in frustration as his furious pacing takes him along another lap around the fire pit in the library. His suit coat is held closed with only one button, the tie no longer remains, and his hair has reached a new level of wild from his constant tugging.

"I didn't know she could do that, Doc. Don't you and the TARDIS live in some sort of symbiosis?" Jack asks hesitantly, eye following his distressed friend through another circuit.

"What?! Well, I guess you could look at it like that. We're bonded, in a similar way as Rose and I are, but it's…well, it's completely different. Jack, if you're implying that She  _has_  to listen to me, then you'd be dead wrong. Completely, bloody well, dead wrong. Otherwise, we would always end up where I'm aiming. Well, most of the time anyway," he adds distractedly, waving his hands in the air.

"Are you learning anything at all about Rose from the TARDIS?" Romana asks from her seat by the window. It's nighttime outside, and the fire of the nebula lights the cloud tops below them. It's beautiful, and she finds it thoroughly irritating.

"Only that She thinks Rose is fine, and she's eating but not enough. The TARDIS is worried too, but I think She's grieving as well, in Her own way." The Tardis sends him another wave of understanding, showing him an image of Rose wrapped in a blanket staring out a window. The general impression is that she's fine.

"I wish Rose would see Ella," Donna states in frustration, throwing herself into an armchair. Crossing her arms, she looks around the room, and wishes she had something to fling. "I understand that she's unhappy, and Ella reminds her of what happened, but am I the only one who finds all of this just a bit irrational?" Rose had resolutely refused to see the Lené or anyone else. Then, the Doctor tried to argue with her that she needed the help. That's when she hid the door.

"Is any mother who loses their child so horribly, particularly rational, Donna? My apologies, Doctor, I did not mean to be insensitive to your loss as well," Romana says sincerely, watching the Doctor's frenetic worry with sadness.

Waving aside her apology, the Doctor keeps moving. He feels like a caged animal. He doesn't know what to do, and it's killing him. He can't feel his wife, and that's beginning to wear on him physically as well as mentally. A Bond such as theirs is constantly renewing. With Rose shutting her side down, it's almost like living with only one heart. It could literally kill him eventually.

"What about Dougie?" Romana asks thoughtfully. "Rose could use the assistance of a skilled Lené, but she's refusing to see Ellasiera. Perhaps she would allow him in to see her. She thinks of him as a brother of sorts."

The Doctor stops his pacing mid step, turning to face Romana as his mother's words ring through his mind—' _she may need a friend rather than a husband at the moment.'_  "That's a brilliant idea!"

**Day 19**

Landing for the first time in nearly a month is a welcome shock for everyone. The TARDIS is many things and has many benefits, but nothing can compare to the first steps outside the ship into real sunlight and fresh air—even if it's frigid.

As the Doctor and crew exit the TARDIS doors they immediately see Dougie waiting for them. The expression on his face is one of deep sadness, a terrible weight in his violet eyes as he catches each person's gaze for a moment. When his eyes rest on Ellasiera, they widen fractionally before he takes the few steps to reach them.

"You knew, didn't you, Dougie?" the Doctor asks cryptically, thinking back on the enigmatic statements made the last time they were here.

_There is a Song that will end soon, but we will remember._

_All Songs must end at some point, Doctor._

"I saw flashes of possibilities only, my friend, but I know now, yes. The TARDIS is singing to me of Her grief and yours. My sympathy can barely scratch the surface of this wound, but what assistance I can render is yours. I may not leave the Ood Sphere, but I may stay with you as long as necessary," he tells them, and Donna is immediately in his arms, hugging him close.

"How long has it been for you?" Donna asks him once she finally takes a step back, wiping her eyes. He looks tired, but generally just as they had left him.

"Only a few months, dear Donna. We have been very busy, and the transitioning is going smoothly. If these were happier times, I would insist on a tour, but that will have to wait," he reassures her, though with a sad smile instead of his usual grin.

"Dougie, it's so good to see you. We've missed you on the TARDIS for many reasons, but no one plays poker as well as you," Jack says playfully with a tight, but genuine, smile as he moves to also embrace his tall friend.

As Jack steps to the side, the Doctor lifts a hand toward Ella for introductions. "This is Ellasiera. She's a Lené and saved…us on Midnight."

"Peace and welcome be with you," Dougie says formally, bowing deeply to the newcomer. "I am Dugron also of Duat, but please call me Dougie." Donna thinks she might see a slight blush on Ella's cheeks when Dougie bows to her.

Ella returns his bow with one of her own. "Peace and welcome. I am Ella, and I am afraid I have you at a disadvantage as I entreated Donna to tell me about you when I learned that you had traveled with them, as well. You… _were_ , Tanu?" She asks hesitantly because his energy patterns are so unusual. They are somewhat like her own people's, but also simpler—less complex. But underneath that is a deep well of energy that simmers below the surface, like magma below the planet's crust. Some of the incredible power residing there is his, but the rest confuses Ella, and she desperately wants to ask about it, but they aren't here for her.

"My apologies, perhaps we will have the opportunity later," she says before Dougie can reply, blushing this time in embarrassment—suddenly feeling like a small child despite her 150 years. Taking a step back and to the side, Ella places herself behind Jack, who takes her hand and squeezes it in understanding. His smile soothes some of her inner turmoil as they all focus back on the Doctor and Dougie.

The Doctor's gaze is pained and there are dark circles under his eyes as he returns his attention to Dougie. "Rose has shut herself away, and I can't reach her. Romana cleverly suggested that you might be able to help. Would you please? She's cut herself off from me, Dougie; she's shut down her side of the Bond. I don't know how much more I can take." The raw desperation in the Doctor's eyes pulls at Dougie's heart.

"Of course, Doctor. I am sorry that our reunion has to come with such circumstances, but I will aid in any way I can. My sister requires assistance, and I will give all I that I am able. Shall we?" he offers, gesturing toward the TARDIS. He is perfectly capable of tolerating the cold of the Ood Sphere, but Donna and Jack are already looking a little blue around the edges.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So to make up for not posting Wednesday, here's a super long chapter. :-) I am nearly finished with the next chapter, but I am no longer ahead of my beta, the very helpful Veritascara, and she has a family and vacations and things. So, I will do my best to publish semi-regularly, but until the fire of inspiration lights up under the arse of my apathetic muse, they might be more sporadic. I greatly appreciate all the support. I would bake each and everyone of you a cupcake in thanks! :-D


	33. To Stand Amid the Eternal Ways

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A plan is hatched, rest is acquired, ideas are supplied, and breakfast is eaten...well mostly eaten.

**33 To Stand Amid the Eternal Ways**

 

"When I was a boy on Duat, we had stories of illusions that would gain a life of their own, apart from their creator. They would then devour the weak-minded in an attempt to remain. The tales were used to frighten us into doing our lessons. The Firvulag were the chaotic ones, losing control of their talents—we Tanu had to be better. Your creature on Midnight reminds me of this. I wonder if the stories may have had a shred of reality in them, something encountered in our earliest explorations, perhaps," Dougie muses, after the Doctor, Jack, and Ellasiera finish retelling the series of events that led to their current situation.

The solemnity of the tale casts a pall over everyone's mood. They're gathered in the Library to share what information they all have, hopefully leading to a solution.

"As far as I know, I was the first of our kind to be on Midnight, but that was only since the Leisure Palace was dropped there. I am uncertain how long it has been known, and it is far from our own galaxy, Dougie," Ella supplies.

"This is true, but nature has a way of recreating similar beings, though vastly separated by time and space," Dougie says.

Donna notices the blush creep across Ella's face as the Doctor answers Dougie. Looking back and forth between the two tall, pale aliens, Donna's eyes narrow as she wonders about the possibilities for these two.

"Fascinating as that is, how does it help Rose? What's wrong with her?" the Doctor asks, his voice heavy with frustration and worry.

"Wrong with her, Doctor?" Ella asks in surprise before Dougie can respond.

All eyes turn to her and she feels their scrutiny as a weight in her stomach, but this is too important to let all the men continue thinking they understand the situation; even one as sensitive as Dougie. Donna crosses her arms and gives Ella an encouraging nod.

"There's nothing  _wrong_  with Rose. She is grieving and hurt for the loss of her child. She was violated by an alien being, and while she could save everyone else, that is cold comfort in the light of her baby's death."

Ella's tone is gentle, but her words strike the Doctor right between the eyes. He understands very well tempering the mutually exclusive feelings of gut-wrenching loss with the sense of a duty done. It is an experience he wouldn't wish on anyone, let alone his precious Rose, and it hadn't been her choice.

"And our Rose is still essentially human. The abrupt severing of her telepathic bond with the child could by itself cause a great deal of trauma, as I'm sure you understand." Dougie wants to take pity on his friend. His words stop the Doctor in his usual pacing, and he stands staring at Dougie with round eyes, his mouth open slightly in shock. "My worry, Doctor, is that Rose may need more assistance to help her begin healing. I can't imagine a creature of such horrendous power would not have also left damage in its wake."

"She was, in fact, hemorrhaging energy when…"

The Doctor collapses onto one of the sofas near the fire as Ella moves to Dougie's side and the two healers begin discussing the possible damage and trauma that Rose may be dealing with currently—alone.

He had tried very hard up to this point to completely ignore the new hole in his spirit. The devastating void that was once inhabited by the vibrant telepathic presence of their son is a thinly bandaged wound for him. This is unfortunately not the first family he has lost. But for Rose...

The fire might as well be a hologram for all the warmth the Doctor receives from it. The TARDIS is a warm, forgiving presence in the back of his mind, but that only makes him feel worse at the moment. He bends forward at the waist, elbows on knees and clasps his long fingers behind his neck. He's just so tired. The emotional and physical stresses are definitely taking their toll. Plus, he hasn't slept since before they left Midnight. He'd tried once, curled around a comatose Rose, but all he could see were Skye's eyes when the creature left her, when she had about three seconds to realise she was going to die before she was gone into the light with the brave stewardess. All the while, the Doctor was locked within himself as the creature kept him pinned, using him as a conduit.

He is slowly shredding his own mind when he feels the sofa next to him dip down and the familiar cinnamon and vanilla scents of Donna surround him.  _Was I always this weak?_  he asks himself in a silent fit of pique as part of him desperately wants to throw himself into her arms and weep for a week or two. The rest of him is divided between anger, grief, frustration, and worry. Why couldn't he have just—

"Stop it."

"What?" the Doctor asks, his head snapping up and locking eyes with the redhead.

"Stop blaming yourself. Stop trying to make this your fault.  _Stop_  looking for reasons to hate yourself."

"Donna, please? I wasn't—"

"Yes, you were, Spaceman. I know that look and what it means when you're trying to pull your hair out. Rose won't appreciate it if you pluck yourself bald." Donna's tone is gentle and her sad eyes are soft with affection as she teases him gently.

"I've never been bald," he muses, like he's actually contemplating it. The Doctor shakes his head to clear his thoughts; the lack of sleep has his mind addled. He and Donna watch Dougie and Ella as they continue their very animated discussion about redaction and Rose. The Doctor tries to focus on what they're saying, but he's finding it difficult.

"I  _know_  what Rose needs."

The Doctor looks over to Donna again. She's still watching the two Lené avidly. Feeling his gaze on her, she turns to glance back at him a moment before gesturing toward the medical discussion.

"I'm sure all the brain pathway stuff they're talking about is important, too. And after gettin' the entire story about what happened, I'm sure Rose needs their help, but beyond the physical, Rose needs her mum," Donna says with solid confidence weighing her words.

She sits up straighter and turns to face him on the sofa, tucking a foot under her knee. Raising a hand, she interrupts him before he can tell her how that's not going to happen.

"Before you get goin' on about parallel universes and her mum bein' lost on the other side, I would like to remind you that  _this_ ," and Donna spreads her hands while looking around the Library, encompassing more than just the room, "is a time machine. Now, shut it, cause I'm not done, and I've been doin' a lot of thinking on this."

As ordered, the Doctor closes his mouth again. A swell of affection for his feisty friend softens his expression as he sits back to hear her out. Donna has only a cursory idea of what is and is not possible (or at least shouldn't happen) with the TARDIS and timelines, but she still deserves to be heard.

"The way I see it, there were months at a time where her mum didn't see you or Rose when you were travelin' before; a whole year at one point, I believe." Donna gives him a sharp eye, so he knows she doesn't approve either and the Doctor flashes on Jackie and Donna meeting. He's not sure who would out sass the other. His sluggish thoughts refocus on Donna as she continues, "So, if you could find one of those times, you could pop in and—"

"But we didn't, Donna. I've done all that time, and Jackie never saw us during the in-between visits," he interrupts her. Jackie would definitely have had things to say or slaps to deliver if she'd seen them out of sync.

"Not if you took her memories," Donna supplies quietly, watching him carefully.

" _What_?" the Doctor replies, startled.

"I overheard Jack and Rose talkin' once...and don't you dare tell him I know!" Donna admonishes, pointing an accusing finger at him. At a shake of the Doctor's head, she continues, "I know this is a past Jack for you and Rose—that you actually know a future him, as well. He mentioned that these memories will have to be taken from him." The doctor opens his mouth again, but Donna holds up both hands stopping him, tears standing in her eyes.

"No! I don't know why, and I don't want to. If something happens to me...well, I don't want to know. Thing is, I remembered he said that, and I think if you gave Rose's mum a choice, she would choose to see her daughter, even if it meant she wouldn't remember it later." Dashing the tears from her eyes, Donna gives the Doctor a watery, though satisfied, smile.

"Donna," he says quietly, holding her gaze. "I don't know what happens, either. That doesn't mean it's anything bad; there are too many options to leap to any conclusions." She can hear and see his sincerity. He's telling her the truth as far as he knows it, and she beams at him, relaxing with a grateful nod at his words.

"Trying to see Rose's mum is dangerous, but I'll think about it, Donna. Thank you," he tells her, a little lopsided smile lighting his features a touch.

Donna stands. Placing a strong hand on the Doctor's shoulder, she gives him a gentle squeeze before she leaves the Library in search of Jack. He'd left more than an hour ago to make tea. Assuming he's inadvertently  _trying_  to set the kitchen on fire, Donna heads out to find her errant lover.

The Doctor's mind swirls with thoughts and times and dates and possibilities. What if Donna is right? If he could find a time to bring Rose to Jackie, should he? What would Jackie do?

He lays his head back against the rear of the sofa as he thinks, allowing the thoughts to work themselves out. It's barely a minute before he's asleep; the desperate needs of his body finally taking the choice out of his hands.

* * *

Seven hours and thirty-two minutes later, the Doctor snaps back to consciousness feeling better than he has in weeks. As he sits up from the sofa, a light blanket shifts to his lap. He's facing the windows, so he sees that the primary star is about to dawn, the smaller secondary already in the sky with it's soft yellow light.

Scrubbing his hands through his hair and across his face, the Doctor marvels that he was able to sleep unhindered by dreams. He hears the sound of a closing book nearby and freezes.

"Doctor, good morning."

Turning his head slowly to the right, he sees Dougie's kind and smiling face.

"Dougie. Hello. I guess morning makes sense when presented with the current view," he states as he stands and stretches his long arms upwards, noting that it is, in fact, morning for the Ood Sphere as well. "I slept. Did you have a hand in that?"

There are very few people in the universe that the Doctor would ask that question of and not have it sound like an accusation, and two of them aren't technically alive.

"Indeed, my friend. My apologies for doing so without first having your consent, but Ella determined that your need for rest was more important than my concerns. Your dreams were troubled; I simply encouraged your thoughts in other directions," he answers, gently placing his book on the small table beside the chair and getting to his feet, his long silver robe rustling around his ankles.

"And the others?" The relative quiet in the library is soothing. His well-meaning companions, friends, and Romana had been doing a skillful job of never letting him be alone, but the constant noise had grated on his over-taxed nerves. Now, he feels more like himself—still worried and saddened, but less...fractured.

"Still resting. Ella and I discussed much while you rested. She is quite skilled, and I believe we have a plan to assist our Rose," he says, pleased by the change in his friend. The dark circles under the Doctor's eyes are lighter and his features look less pinched.

"A plan? That's...good." And he finds that he means it. Scrubbing his face with his palms again, the Doctor decides he should hit this day with everything he has. Perhaps this is the tipping point. Dougie and Ella will help Rose mentally, Donna has suggested a brilliant, though dangerous, idea to help her spiritually, and the Doctor has real work to do that will actually get them somewhere...if he can find the right moment. Maybe the tide is turning towards the better after all.

* * *

Donna and Jack enter the kitchen to find a much fresher Doctor chatting animatedly with Dougie and Ella while making breakfast for at least twenty. There are pancakes, toast, beans, eggs, some sort of weird blue meat that smells like bacon or ham, fruit of all kinds, and french toast.

"Guess that nap did you some good, Spaceman," Donna teases as she notes the clean, unrumpled suit and the restoration of his gravity-defying hair. With a smile, she moves to make some coffee for her and Jack. Ella stands to help her, and Jack takes a seat at the table.

"Are we feeding an army, Doc?" Jack asks, eyeing the food.

"Nope," the Doctor replies carelessly, popping the 'P' with a tight and somewhat manic grin.

Jack sees his previous self from Rose's memories in the tight and precise though frenetic movements as he speeds around the kitchen cooking.  _Hiding his thoughts in action,_  Jack thinks to himself as he watches the weird ballet. Whatever has the Doctor's mind on fire is driving him into making more food than they can possibly eat in a day.

"How about you slow down on the cookin', you prawn! We're never going to eat this much, and  _what_  is  **that**?" Donna asks dubiously, pointing at the blue meat while she and Ella return to the table with a pot of their favoured morning beverage.

Tossing a final pancake artfully through the air from the skillet to the plate in his hand, the Doctor turns with a flourish and sets the plate on the table. Grinning like a lunatic, he turns the cooktop off and sits down, pouring tea for he and Dougie.

"That, my dear Donna Noble, is Terrilian ham. You'll love it!" he says, handing her the tray.

She takes a tiny piece and places it near the edge of her plate; if it's gross, it won't contaminate anything else, she resolves. Loading her plate with fruit and some toast, she decides to try the mystery meat first.

"Terrilian ham, really? I've never heard of it, but Terrilia has the most amazing three...errr...trees. They're blue, too...those trees are," Jack stammers, catching himself before he said what he'd actually been thinking as he chews his portion studiously  _not_  looking at Donna.

"Trees, huh? I just bet," Donna replies, eyeing Jack critically with a narrowed gaze as she places the bit of blue ham in her mouth.

"Actually Donna, Jack is entirely correct," Ella pipes up. "The trees  _are_  blue. That is why the Terillian slugs have blue meat. They get it from eating the...Donna? Are you alright?" Ella asks, seeing her friend turn a little green and choke a bit as she swallows.

"Uh...slugs, eh? -cough- Umm, fine. I'm not really hungry this morning. Just some coffee. Thanks, Ella," Donna manages to stammer once she's determined that she can stay at the table and keep the 'meat' down.

Between stuffing himself and handing food out to the others, the Doctor discusses Ella and Dougie's plans to help Rose. He isn't at all happy about not being included, but they're adamant.

"Doctor, we actually need the Bond between you to be as minimal as possible right now, so we can delve as deeply as necessary to reach whatever damage the creature may have caused. Your proximity could cause the Bond to flare in self-defence, which would not aid us," Ella reiterates.

"Ella has a far greater understanding of the physical applications of our talents, Doctor. I am more concerned that Rose does not have the tools necessary to separate herself from the traumatic memories. As I once told you, they are not meant to be relived over and over, which would also keep her hormones from rebalancing. But if Rose's mental framework is damaged, then she would have no way to buffer herself. In a sense, she could be caught in a feedback loop of her thoughts, feelings, and emotions. She cannot heal physically or mentally if the pain remains fresh every moment."

Dropping his head into his hands, the Doctor laces his fingers together in his hair, the guilt obvious in his posture. "I should have taken her directly to the infirmary. I was so worried about her that I didn't examine her properly. I was so involved in her emotional health…" Unable to finish the sentence, he finally has enough and gets up to start pacing again.

"Doctor, to what purpose do you insist on accepting such guilt and blame? You know as well as I that the complex energies from the healing coma would have hidden the subtle damage from your scanners," Ella tells him. She is the least familiar with his responses, and she's confused by how self-destructive his behaviour is.

"But Rose is suffering," he argues, flashing an outraged look in Ella's direction.

"Are you not, my friend?" Dougie asks gently. He understands the Doctor's feelings, but agrees with Ella that they are counterproductive. "You and Rose are bound to each other in ways that are both fascinating and frightening. I know this isn't your first family, but I believe it is the first forged with such...regard and—"

"Love, you great lump. That's the word you're lookin' for," Donna cut in, sounding annoyed.  _Why can't these aliens just say what they mean?_  she thinks, inwardly rolling her eyes.

"Indeed, friend Donna. It is the word that is written in my heart, and it is a word easily spoken, though often misunderstood. My people considered it rude to speak lightly of it. Love is such a complex mix of chaos, hope, determination, and vulnerability. It is a concept that is shown rather than spoken of in most telepathic societies," Dougie explains. Seeing Donna's surprised expression, he gives her a metaphor that will hopefully help. "Did you know the Inuit people on Earth have more than a hundred words for snow in all its varieties? Love is like that."

Donna is about to reply when Jack chimes in with his two-cents worth on the situation. "This was just a big cosmic accident, Doc. Maybe—"

"There are no accidents, Jack," Romana interrupts as she enters the kitchen, resplendent in a long white robe with deep bands of the now familiar blue. "Time Lords walk in the footsteps of Destiny across sand that is covered in the impressions of every possible path. When you have the ability to be aware of all that is, was, will be, or shouldn't—you learn to ignore the possibilities you don't like. Unfortunately, when they occur anyway your surprise is tempered by guilt."

"Romana," the Doctor says her name with a tinge of warning.

"Doctor," she replies, unimpressed. "You are uniquely fortunate in having the two foremost psychic healers in the universe in your TARDIS. Perhaps you should give them the opportunity to do what they do best."

Raking his hands through his hair roughly, they can all feel the waves of tension boiling off of him. "Fine!" he explodes. "Fine, I will take you—"

The TARDIS sends him such a strong negative that he stumbles against the counter for support clutching his head. The burst is followed by images of Dougie and Ella at the Gallifrey door, but they are alone.

"Doc! Are you alright?" Jack asks, hurriedly getting to his feet.

Holding up a hand to stave off Jack's assistance, the Doctor locks eyes with Dougie. "The TARDIS will take you to Rose. She wants you to help...not me," he finishes, looking away in a moment of misery.

"Doctor, I..." Romana begins, but he shakes his head, pushing himself away from the counter. Without a backward glance, the Doctor leaves the kitchen, now heavy with a pained silence from those remaining.

"I wish we could help him," Donna says quietly, taking Jack's hand and squeezing it in comfort.

"We all do," Romana replies softly, staring off in the direction the Doctor disappeared before vanishing as well. The rest turn their attention to Dougie as he begins speaking.

"I believe our best chance to help the Doctor is to help Rose."

He turns to Ella, who nods in agreement, standing up from the table and following him out. Abruptly, only Jack and Donna remain in the kitchen with the mountain of leftover food.

"What do we do now? I guess we should clean up," Donna mutters to no one in particular.

"We do what we do best at the moment: wait," Jack answers as he moves to a cabinet and starts pulling down containers.

"I'm tired of waiting. I think I want to go home for a while after this," Donna muses. She wants to stay and help, but she really feels useless. All the family trauma makes her miss her own family—even her mum.

"Would you like company?" Jack asks hesitantly. He knows she's been feeling a little off lately, and he'd just chalked it up to the emotions that have been running so high.

"Of course, you plum! What would I do without you?" Donna's annoyed reply is like a balm to his soul and exactly what he'd been wanting to hear.

Jack flashes his brilliant grin at her and moves around the kitchen with a lighter step. Donna can't help the frisson of anxiety that races down her spine at her words and the memory of the overheard conversation.

_How much of my memory did you say you take?_

_You said two years when we meet in 1941._

_It's almost been two years._

_I know, Jack. I know._

Donna had then heard Rose and Jack start walking again and slipped around the corner, but she couldn't get the words out of her head or the worry that lingered months later.

"Hey, babydoll, you okay?" Jack calls, concern knitting his handsome brow when he catches her staring into space.

"Oh, I'm alright, just trying to figure out how we're going to eat all this food," she lies, smiling to hide the knot of disquiet in her gut. Pushing all the feelings down, Donna has a distinct moment where she understands the Doctor a little more intimately than she'd ever wished to. Hiding her trepidation in witty, sarcastic banter, she continues helping Jack clean up.

Soon they're laughing and teasing each other more naturally. Donna desperately wants Jack to make her forget, and in a flash of insight into his lover's mood, Jack sweeps her off her feet into a fireman's carry and heads off down the corridor with her. Despite her half-hearted protests and name calling, Jack doesn't put her down until they reach their room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Goodness! Thank you all for being so patient with me. :-) I am so appreciative for all the feedback and encouragement. I was not expecting this part of the story to be so long or so difficult, but I can actually see the light at the end of the tunnel. After much advice and rallying from Ash and Veritascara, 34 is also complete and just waiting for Veritascara's magic eye of imperfection detection.
> 
> I love to hear your thoughts and don't forget, reviews are like cupcakes, only crazy people don't like them. :-D
> 
> This and the previous chapter titles are from the poem Waiting by John Burroughs.


	34. A Gathering of Rose Petals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dougie and Ella find a way to Rose, in a cottage strewn with misery.

**34 A Gathering of Rose Petals**

 

Dougie and Ella exit the kitchen to the hallway, and turning left they head to the console room. Once they arrive, Dougie places a hand on one of the elegantly twisting trunks and silently asks the TARDIS if they may see Rose. A clear image of a door with the intertwined patterns he has come to recognise as the Doctor's language flashes through his mind. Dougie smiles, thanking Her.

He starts toward a set of stairs leading to a level above the console and and turns, beckoning Ella to follow, keeping the offered image clear in his mind. They walk down several turning corridors as they pass many closed doors, before they finally arrive at the one in Dougie's thoughts.

"I believe it is their names," Ella comments, running her hands over the inlaid circles, arcs, and dots of Gallifreyan. "I recognise a few of the characters, but I was never able to fully grasp the complexity of their language. I can always feel that there is more, but it is like movement from the corner of my eye; I just cannot  _see_  clearly enough." The frustration is evident in her voice, and Dougie can imagine many hours of studying in the attempt to pin the elusive letters down.

"The Doctor explained once that their language is as multidimensional as they are. You are quite fortunate to be so sensitive. To me they are beautiful, but no more," he says wistfully, laying his hand next to hers on the door. The heavy wooden door swings open at their mutual touch, revealing a meadow of red grass and snow-capped mountains in the distance, a peach coloured sky darkening to burnt-orange at the horizon.

Dougie looks over to Ella at her sharp intake of breath and helpfully supplies, "I believe they call it the Gallifrey Room. Rose described it to me once with the intention of showing me an incredible fountain that the Doctor recreated here from his mother's garden. I am afraid we ran out of time, and these circumstances are not the ones I would choose to be visiting my friend."

"Agreed," Ella replies, stepping into the meadow. Dougie follows her and the door closes behind them, removing any hint that they aren't actually standing in a field on Gallifrey.

"That's the Citadel, Dougie; it is perfect!" She points out a shining dome and tower in the distance excitedly before pausing in confusion as she turns full circle, taking in the scenery.

"Rose told me this space is created by the TARDIS for the Doctor as an amalgamation of his favourite memories from his home," Dougie supplies helpfully, sensing her doubt. She nods in understanding.

"Such an amazing ship. I had heard tales while still a child, and when on Gallifrey we trained in young teaching TARDIS, but their Arc-ReCon systems were still developing. We were only ever shown the console room and given a cursory idea of the potentials possible with a full-grown TARDIS. Mostly we were told to stay out of the way unless our Time Lord required us.  _This_...this is amazing," she relays with quiet awe.

Without considering the consequences and unconsciously seeking a kindred spirit, Ella reaches out with her naked hand to grasp Dougie's. Ella gasps when an awareness of each other snaps into place for both of them as their palms touch. They are different versions of the same ancient telepathic species, divided by millennia, and not as precisely aware of each other as they would be if they'd been born more nearly together, but in this frozen instant, they create much more. Many millions of separated light years away, the most sensitive of the Lené and the Sidhe are made aware of each other through this one accidental touch.

* * *

Deeper in the TARDIS, the Doctor sits alone in his study, surrounded by printouts and monitors. The TARDIS helpfully shows him the many convoluted paths his timeline has taken since he first met Rose. Seeing their timelines in this way is an eye-opening experience in its own right. His focus, however, is on finding a portion of time in this regeneration long enough so that Rose has as much time as she needs with her mum. His attention is snatched away from the monitors and papers covered in Gallifreyan as a dramatic shift in the timelines that constantly swirl around him causes him to lurch to his feet in surprise. He stands awkwardly, supporting himself on his desk as he senses the significant change. A complicated space-time event has just occurred on his TARDIS, and for once it doesn't involve him.

The TARDIS shows him an image of Dougie and Ella standing hand in hand amidst the red fields of the Gallifrey room and a series of impressions that leaves the Doctor unusually speechless in its wake. He manages a "That's brilliant!" before a beep from one of the many monitors grabs his attention. Dropping back into his chair, the Doctor returns to work, a smile he's unaware of hovering around his lips.

* * *

 _-Great Tana, Mother of All, what have I done?-_  Ella thinks in amazement, feeling the faraway song that always rests in the back of her mind alter and grow in complexity.

 _-I believe, Ellasiera, you have just linked all of the disparate versions of our species. Hello-_  Dougie replies inwardly with a smile as he squeezes her hand where it rests within his.

Dougie feels her strengthen her already substantial shields before she gently drops his hand. He notices that she blushes when she does so, looking away.

Realising that she can still feel him at the edges of her attention, Ella decides to see if he can 'hear' her. It would be simpler if they could communicate properly. Sending him a silent invitation, she receives a hesitant affirmative.

 _-Hello-_ she replies gingerly.

_-Indeed, I am able to perceive you quite well, Ella. It has been...some time since I spoke this way. Forgive me if I appear rusty-_

To the contrary, his inner voice is strong and melodious; she's positive she could listen to him all day. This errant thought has her blushing again, which only serves to embarrass her further.

 _Focus, Ellasiera! For the love of Tana, Rose needs you. Focus!_  she thinks very privately to herself. Practising a few quick breathing exercises, Ella feels her mental sharpness return and she is ready to get to work.

"I did not realise a room could be so large within the TARDIS," Ella says studiously, looking around herself and tactfully changing the subject. "How should we begin looking for Rose?"

"I would suggest we follow the path," Dougie replies, smiling gently and gesturing to the ground. "I find they generally lead me where I wish to go."

Ella laughs despite feeling a bit embarrassed. She was so taken with the appearance of being on Gallifrey and this new connection that she had neglected to notice the clearly defined trail leading into the forest of silver-leafed trees.

"I am certain your assumptions will prove correct," she teases lightly over her shoulder as she begins moving down the path.

They wend their way through the trees and quickly arrive at the glade containing the fountain. In other circumstances they would have paid the swiftly shifting spheres more attention as they bled from one shape to the next, but today the perceptive telepaths easily sense the heavy cloud of malaise obviously originating from the cottage and pervading the peaceful space.

The light and teasing mood that had filled Ella upon finding herself in a perfect representation of Gallifrey evaporates as the cloud of unhappiness seeps into her mind and spirit.

"Oh, Rose," she says softly to herself as she moves toward the cottage, feeling illogically responsible.

Dougie restrains her forward progress as she nears the entrance to the cottage.

_-Ella, please, allow me. Rose knows me, but has not seen me in some time. It may be easier for her if I am the first person she recognises. She has refused the Doctor entrance for several days. I do not wish to startle her with our abrupt appearance.-_

_-Forgive me, Dougie. You are correct. I will wait-_ she replies diffidently, again embarrassed. Ella has always hated to see anyone suffering, and the melancholy pouring from the house pulls at her heart.

Dougie nods in thanks, leaving her with a comforting smile as he moves directly to the door. Turning the knob, he opens it slowly, so anyone inside has plenty of time to notice someone is entering. As the door opens, Dougie takes a moment to observe the interior.

Inside, the little cottage is dim, lit only by the reflected light from the fountain playing chaotically against the ceiling. The floor and every other surface appears littered with pieces of clothing, dishes, broken pieces of unrecognisable things, and...sadness. Misery colours every surface with its blatant disregard for thoughts of happiness or joy.

Dougie feels his heart break a little more for his dear friend as he looks around the room. When his eyes find the bed, he only recognises Rose by the splash of straggly and matted golden hair that's strewn carelessly along a pillow, her form wrapped tightly in a blanket. Her back is to him, so he's not immediately able to view her features, but he can sense that she is the core of the emotional agony filling the small house.

He carefully enters, delicately stepping over and around the debris littered floor until he comes to stand in front of Rose. Finally seeing her face shatters his heart completely, and Dougie is fervently glad that the Doctor isn't here to see his mate in this state.

Rose's eyes are open, and the glittering reflection of the twin suns beaming their light into the fountain is mirrored in their depths, but they're also red and swollen from repeated bouts of tears, and there's dried blood around them like she may have scratched herself at some point, but those wounds have healed. She is terribly wasted, her eyes sunken and surrounded by dark circles, her skin sallow, and Dougie fears she may not have eaten or drunk anything in days. She lays on her side, her face pillowed on her hands—she is a statue carved of wretchedness.

Gently pushing aside the rubbish nearest the head of the bed, Dougie kneels in front of Rose, brushing some of her hair out of her eyes and cradling his large warm palm against her face. Calling her name softly several times, it isn't until he blocks the light of the fountain in her eyes that Rose takes one long blink, shifting her eyes to his face.

"Dougie?" Her lips are cracked, and his name is merely a croaking of sound, but he hears her.

* * *

" _I would think by now, Rose Tyler, you would understand how."_

" _That's you and I, Rose…we just made a baby!"_

_-I'd feel better if I was doing something and not strapped down like a delicate teacup!-_

_-Rooooose, it's for you and the baby's protection. It would do neither one of you any good to get tossed around and hurt.-_

_"That's your baby brother."_

_**~Do not worry, my Wolf. The little Thief is well. He was just scared~** _

" _He's perfect. Not a scratch on either of you."_

_-I'll remind you one last time, Doctor. You and I are Bonded, body and soul-_

" _All this running wouldn't be so hard if I wasn't moving two."_

" _There is a Song that will end soon, but we will remember."_

" _All Songs must end at some point, Doctor."_

" _Doctor, that's our son."_

" _Doctor stuff with the doctor staff, nothin' important."_

" _Yes, she's sure, you knob. Rattling around in a rubbish bin for hours doesn't sound fun, even if she weren't pregnant!"_

" _We can leave now if you want, Rose,"_

" _Tana's blessings on your new family."_

" _What could possibly go wrong?"_

_He's waited so long, in the dark and the cold_

_Bodies so hot, with blood and pain_

_I'm so have to let him go, was nothing we could do. But Doctor, it killed our baby. I know, Rose. I know. There was nothing we could do. He was going to be so beautiful..._

An infinite cycle from joy to horror. From the instant of conception to the instant his light was snuffed out, Rose relives every moment of her son's short life—over and over again. Beginning in laughter and ending in tears, the cycles are growing shorter and shorter as the images and sensations flip through her awareness at lightning speeds.

A very small hidden part of her knows she's going mad. This saddens her. Rose would have liked to see the Doctor one more time before they both die, but she'd pushed him away. She couldn't bear to see him fall into madness with her. Soon it won't matter, and this never ending pain will stop. She likes that part.

She had been so angry at first. There was time between the cycles, in the beginning. She would leave the house, wander the meadows, look for answers in the pretend sky of a dead world. The Doctor wanted to help, wanted to talk. She sent him away and had her friend hide the door—what could he know?

The TARDIS kept making her food, kept cleaning up the mess when she would throw things—wanting to hear them break. But Rose had screamed at Her to STOP IT! Everything now remained as she left it.

Then she had found the bed. She did not leave it. Sometimes the flickering light could lull her into sleep, but her dreams were of a cold barren landscape filled with screaming light and then movement...warmth...the smell of living things...fear...anger, hate, dread, greed, FEAR—delicious fear…

Screaming, she would awaken. Once the tears of terror were dry, she would hear laughter in her mind, and the memories would begin again in the warm bungalow on San Helios surrounded by those she loved the most—the happiest moment of her life.

"Rose."

_Strapped to the jumpseat in a pitching TARDIS._

"Rose."

_Huge planet in the sky, so beautiful, and the Doctor making a snow angel._

"Please, Rose, hear me."

_A curled baby revealed in soft blue light, stretching and sucking his thumb._

"Rose, my sister, it's Dougie. I am here."

Darkness, a warm hand, and a familiar scent.

"D-Dougie?" Rose blinks out of the cycle, awareness of her surroundings fluttering around her.

"Yes, Rose, I am here for you. I thought you might need a friend, and I have come," he says with love and infinite patience.

The tears fill her eyes and flow unregarded across her cheek, further staining the pillow beneath it. Her eyes never leave his face as she pulls one of her hands from beneath her face and reaches for him with painful slowness. Her nails are long and broken, her hand filthy, but Dougie takes it in his with loving care, gently squeezing it as if Rose were made of delicate china.

 _Oh, Rose, my friend. What has happened to you?_  he thinks painfully, grieving for the happy, vibrant girl he'd last seen only months previously. Blinking back his own tears to be strong for her, Dougie brushes a hand across her brow again, cupping her cheek.

"Dougie!" Rose sobs out. And though it was quiet, the amount of grief and desolation wrapped around his name tells him everything he needs to know about the mental state of his dear friend.

Dougie looks up, catching sight of Ella standing in the doorway observing them, her hands clasped to her mouth and her own tears falling in commiserate grief for Rose.

Turning his eyes back to Rose's, Dougie nods to her without speaking. Rose closes her eyes. and her breath shudders in and out of her as she begins sobbing in earnest again. Only this time, Dougie is with her, slowly filtering into her mind as he softly caresses her hand while she clutches his own in desperation, keeping her memories at bay.

Leaning forward, Dougie easily scoops Rose into his arms, cradling her to his chest. He locks eyes with Ella, wishing to communicate both his sorrow and determination.

 _-I am soothing her thoughts, but it is as we feared, Ellasiera. Rose is still living within the eye of a memory storm. I will bathe her, and then we can begin. Please wait by the fountain and the TARDIS will restore the house. I will call soon-_  He turns away with Rose in his arms.

Ella could feel the anguish and heartbreak for Rose in the currents of his mind-speech and his use of her full name. She isn't sure how her heart could break further, but it does in sympathy for him. She hardly knows Rose, but feels like she should through the remembered stories of her friends. Rose touches every life she encounters with an unconditional love and wonder, leaving new friends and adding to her family as she goes. To have such a tragedy befall one so... _good_  leaves Ella almost breathless in her musings as she seats herself near the fountain. She loses herself in the shifting light and song of the spheres as she contemplates her own place in this incredible young woman's life.

* * *

Carrying Rose into the en suite, Dougie is grateful to the TARDIS for already making the bath. She'd obviously picked up on his thoughts because the room, unlike the rest of the house, is fresh, light, inviting, and warm—very human and without one sign of the other room's disarray.

Slowly disrobing Rose, Dougie is saddened further by how thin she actually is. She can't be more than a few days from triggering her own regeneration if she'd been allowed to continue as she had. Hiding his distress behind soft, easy words of kindness, Dougie gently bathes Rose, grateful to the TARDIS for continually replacing the filthy water with clean. The first few minutes are the worst as the water is often brown with filth and dried blood, before he finally has most of the grime removed.

Rose isn't comatose, but she's floating in a warm cloud of easy love. She feels almost childlike in her innocent contentment. There's something she knows she should be remembering, but everything is just so nice.

Dougie silently calls for Ella when it's time to wash Rose's hair. Ella is pleased with the difference in the room as she moves through to the en suite. It contrasts completely with the space she'd walked away from—all airy and cheerful. Light from the late afternoon suns shining down through skylights bathes the area in liquid gold.

Upon reaching the bathroom, Ella's spirits darken again as she catches Dougie's eyes. Empathetic pain and guilt mar their violet depths when he lifts his gaze to hers. And still he has a smile for her as she enters the room.

_-I am afraid to undo our efforts before they begin by drowning my dear Rose in an attempt to wash her hair. Would you kindly assist me in this, Ella?-_

Despite how much he's hurting, there is still obvious humour in the tone of his request. It warms Ella's heart to hear it, and she immediately acquiesces, kneeling beside the tub to wash the grime and mats from Rose's hair.

It takes time, and again the TARDIS keeps the water fresh as she removes weeks of disregard. Once Rose's hair is clean and laying damply against her shoulders, they wrap her in a large fluffy blue robe, Dougie again carrying her from the room. Instead of the bed, they now find a low couch with soft chairs flanking it. Darling has prepared the space for Rose's true healing to begin.

Laying Rose out on the couch, Dougie sits on one side of her taking her right hand as Ella takes the other chair.

_-I will need to pull back so Rose can awaken enough to understand and give consent. It will be crucial for the depths I am afraid you will have to delve, Ella. I can feel the edges of the mental lacerations that are exacerbating the feedback.-_

Ella nods in acknowledgement and reaches for Rose's left hand. Dougie is correct, Rose's consent should help keep the Bond quiescent, but she will have to understand to truly give consent. With all her heart, Ella hopes Rose retains enough awareness to give it.

* * *

"Rose."

Rose turns in the warm, safe place that's she's resting as the voice tries to get her attention.

"Rose? Wake up a little. We only need to speak to you for a minute."

Whose voice is that? Why do they want to bother her? Stretching, she realises that she's laying down and wrapped in something soft.

"Rose?"

The voice calls her name again, and she can feel that thing she should be remembering getting closer. It frightens her, though, and she tries to turn away, but her hands are being held by…

"Dougie?" Rose blinks her eyes open, her vision slowly swimming into focus. There's an aching buzz in her head that tries to distract her, but she can feel a solid presence soothing the ache, allowing her to think. A squeeze to her right hand focuses her gaze into the deep, calm eyes of her dearest friend and brother Dougie.

"Dougie! How are…" Coughing a bit to clear the scratchiness from her throat, Rose starts again. "How are you here? Shouldn't you be somewhere else? But where? Dougie, I can't think. Everything's blurry!"

Not wanting to soothe her further mentally and risk clouding her mind again, Dougie tries with words. "Rose, everything is alright. You were injured, and we are here to help you."

"Help me? What happened? I...I can't remember. Where's...where's—"

"Rose, We need your consent to help you. It is your mind that was injured, and we must enter deep within it to assist. May we do that?"

His tone is like a soothing balm. Rose can feel that he desperately wants to help her, but she has to…

"Of course, Dougie. I trust you; you love me," she says with a smile that is only a shade of its former glory, but it's natural, and it tears their hearts.

"Thank you, Rose. Can you sleep? We—

"Doctor, I…

Rose turns her head to the other side, expecting that her left hand is being held by her husband. As she see Ella's face, the buzzing becomes a freight train slamming through her mind, and the memories that Dougie is desperately trying to stifle, threaten to burst forth.

Ella sees Rose's eyes widen in fearful recognition and slides effortlessly into her mind, flowing around Dougie's tenuous hold and building an impenetrable barrier between the memories and the emotions wound tightly within them. Where Dougie is a warm comforting presence, supporting and soothing Rose with familiarity, Ella is the coolness of a mountain brook. She fills the spaces in between and subdues the raging torrent in her mind, allowing Rose greater clarity without being overwhelmed.

Dougie goes from fighting for footing against the breaking flood, to bolstering Ella's exquisite mental handiwork. Her barrier is permeable in just the right ways. It will allow Rose to process the flood of memory without being inundated by it once they're finished. And she'd erected it fast enough to keep the Bond from flaring to life. Dougie blinks at her several times in impressed shock.

 _-Care to learn a few new tricks, Learned Ancestor?-_  she silently asks him with a smirk. And for the first time, it is Dougie who blushes under her confident regard. Rose's question startles him back into the moment.

"Dougie? I…"

"Rose, forgive me," he answers with a genuine and confident smile as he clasps her hand tightly. "This is very important. I know you're confused, but we must still repair damage that was done to you when you were injured. We're going to help you sleep, okay? We will be right here, and you are safe. As soon as you awaken, the Doctor will be here. I promise." Dougie knows that as soon as the Bond flares back to its normal state, the Doctor will fly to her side.

Rose nods, her eyes already drooping as the combination of his and Ella's ministrations ease her initial fright. Slipping into unconsciousness, Rose relaxes against the couch.

Dougie turns to Ella and catches her gaze with a relieved smile. "Ellasiera, you are most impressive. I was raised a telekinetic, though I have some talent in redaction, but in this, I will follow your lead gratefully."

She blushes lightly at the kindness of his words and would feel embarrassed for her earlier cheeky remark if not for the underlying layer of genuine respect in his mental presence where it brushes against hers. Smiling broadly, Ella closes her eyes and waits for Dougie to join her within Rose's mind. Then she leads the way to the damage they had both detected earlier, determined to rebuild Rose's inner foundation so the rest of her healing can progress unhindered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N: Many thanks to Veritascara for betaing this while she is on vacation! Here's the turning point, people. The resolution to Midnight is coming soon. There are two more chapters that are written and I am already writing on the first chapters of the final story. This has been quite the ride. Thank you for taking time to go on it with me. I hope you enjoy this, and look for the rest soon! Thanks!**


	35. A Time For Peace, I Swear It's Not Too Late

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our window of opportunity is found, Rose and the Doctor reunite, Dougie and Ella share a moment, and the TARDIS lands in a most unexpected place.

**35 A Time for Peace, I Swear it's Not Too Late**

 

"Ha! There you are," the Doctor exclaims excitedly as the TARDIS offers one more window of opportunity for this visit. It is the best and the worst, and She knows it. She hoped he would like one of the many others that were presented, but She'd known all along it would be this one. There are no accidents.

"This is perf...Oh," he says in quiet dread, his good spirits fleeing as he finishes investigating the proposed moment.

"You've been holding this one back, haven't you, Old Girl? It's perfect and unfortunate." Dropping his head in his hands, the Doctor sifts back through the other options in his mind discarding all of them for one reason or another. This really is the best moment just before the breaking of the perfect storm.

For Jackie it was nearly two months since the incident with Elton. For he and Rose it might have been closer to six...eight if he's being honest. After the Olympics, he ran and took Rose with him to as many places as possible as fast as her fragile human body could stand it. Rose had saved him from the Isolus; she'd figured out what was happening. And when he got trapped like a fly in amber, she'd saved them all with her determination.

He'd felt the approaching storm. He knew something bad was on the horizon and all he'd wanted was to run away with Rose and forget everything—prove to the Universe that he could make his own rules, thank you very much! The backlash was some of the most painful he has ever experienced in his long, long life.

And now, he wants to head directly into the teeth of impending doom, just to give his wife time with her mum.

The Doctor shakes his head with a rueful smile. That's  _exactly_  what he plans on doing, and he's even looking forward to seeing Jackie...a little...maybe. Well, truthfully he's looking forward to seeing Rose happy, and this would do it. He would take them to the beginning of the ghost shifts and try very hard to  **not**  preemptively turn Canary Wharf into a smoking hole in the ground.

Satisfied with his decision, the Doctor leaves his study for the first time in hours, searching for Donna. He wants her to know he's found a time and place. Hopefully she and Jack won't mind if he drops them off with Wilf for awhile.

Part of him would love to see Jackie and Donna try to out-sass each other, but the greater part is horrified by the idea. He'll pick them up as soon as Rose asks, or Donna will call when she's ready to kill her mum. Grinning to himself for the first time in weeks, the Doctor skips down the halls with bounce in his step and hope in his hearts.

* * *

"There you are, Spaceman. It's been hours," Donna says acerbically, leveling an annoyed expression his direction. She sets her book aside and stands from her place by the fire where Jack is happily sleeping, sprawled out along the super-long, man-eating sofa and snoring softly.

The Doctor flashes Donna a pleased smile and moves toward the windows to wait for her. Her momentary annoyance is instantly replaced by hope at the open excitement in his expression.

"We did it, Donna. The TARDIS and I found a time for Rose," he says with a happy grin, but Donna is sharp and doesn't miss the fleeting cloud of disquiet that had darkened his eyes for a second.

"That's great, but what's wrong with it? I can tell you're holding something back," she replies, knowing she's right by his guilty, sideways look. The Doctor turns to face the twilit Gallifreyan sky, contemplating it for a minute or more before he answers her.

"Canary Wharf."

Those two innocent words create a storm of dread, fear, and sadness in her heart for her friends. Personally, she hadn't been in London at the time of the ghost shifts and the battle at Canary Wharf, but from stories told by Rose and the Doctor, Donna knows exactly why he's so conflicted.

"When you get there, how much time will you have...before well, you know?" she asks him carefully.

She's surprised by the relaxed smile he turns back to her wearing as he stuffs his hands in his pockets. "Two months! That is as long as the ol' girl can land us near when we left the first time."

They look up at the arch of the dome as the TARDIS dims her lights in reproach, and the Doctor hears Her indignant raspberry in his mind. For once, Her Thief's wants and Her needs are in perfect concert.

"Rose never wants to stay with her mum for that long, so hopefully we can leave before I'm too tempted to—" Before he can finish his facetious thought, Donna is interrupting him passionately.

"You can't! Don't even joke about it." Donna exclaims, grabbing his arm. "Doctor, everything would change! I know it was horrible, but what if that meant you and Rose...and well, me...and Jack wouldn't...Doctor, you can't. Please, promise me you won't change a single second."

Donna's whispered pleading melts his hearts. He knows exactly what he could lose by changing a single second of those months leading up to the conflict between Human, Dalek, and Cyberman.

"Donna, I promise. Every horrible, destructive moment will be safe from my tinkering. It's still all about Rose." He can't bring himself to voice the words, but ' _This time I won't lose her'_  is written across his hearts like a mantra.

"Okay, alright. Thank you, Doctor," Donna replies after searching his eyes for a few seconds. With palpable relief, she relaxes against the rail in front of the window.

"Jack and I want to visit mum and gramps while you're gallivanting around in 2006. Think you can manage a hop to 2008...Earth, preferably London, and if you can manage it—"

"Yes, Donna Noble, I and the TARDIS can drop you off at home for a couple of weeks."

"Yeah, that's about as much as I can stand," Donna teases. On a whim she pulls him to her in a tight hug. The Doctor squeaks, but regains his feet and returns the embrace with equal enthusiasm.

"Thank you, Doctor," Donna whispers into his shoulder, and he holds her tighter a moment in answer.

"Hey! Where's mine?" They hear Jack ask through a yawn as he stands up from the sofa and stretches languidly.

The Doctor has a cheeky reply on his tongue when he suddenly feels his Bond to Rose roar back to life. The warm, welcome presence of his awake wife is so broad and encompassing in his starved and barren mind that he sways in place, clutching his skull with both hands and groaning at the onslaught.

Donna and Jack are instantly at his side, supporting him. He doesn't have room in his hearts or tongue to answer them. Finding his footing finally, he tears away from them, gasping "Rose!" before he's out of the library in a flash.

Jack and Donna gape at each other. Fearing the worst, they move to tear after him—ready to help wherever possible. The abrupt appearance of Romana in the doorway stops them short.

"Romana! It's Rose! We need to—"

"Dear Donna, it is absolutely Rose, but in this instance his speed is driven by joy rather than terror. Rose is well and has just awoken; it is the reestablishment of their Bond that's added wings to the Doctor's feet. Our Dougie and Ella have outdone themselves," she tells them with a proud smile.

Staring at her for a moment in surprise, Donna and Jack embrace, dancing around in pleased joy. Their happiness is so infectious that Romana is soon laughing and grinning like a loon with them, sharing in their friend's recovery.

* * *

Rose blinks her eyes open to the smiling, though tired, face of Dougie. Shifting her eyes upward, they meet the vibrant green and equally tired gaze of Ella, standing behind him, her hand on his shoulder.

"Dougie? Ella? Oh...I remember," Rose says slowly. Her eyes are clearer than they have been in days, but especially since the arrival of her psychic cavalry. Probing the interior of her mind is now only as painful as poking a finger at a fresh bruise. The aching void that had previously held her son, no longer weeps energy, but it is still raw, and Rose shies away from it.

"Yes, Rose. We are here. How do you feel?" Part of her wants to laugh at the absurdity of his question. How does he expect her to feel? An alien monster killed her baby. But this is Dougie; his question is well meaning and Rose remembers that he and Ella just saved her and the Doctor's…

"The Doctor?" she asks, reaching for him through the bond.

With a crash, the door to the little cottage bangs open and an exclamation of "Rose!" greets her as the Doctor swarms to the side of the couch she's laying on, wrapped in a dressing gown the same color as his suit. She'd thought she felt stronger until she was wrapped in her husband's arms and their energy spirals around each other, their bond flaring in renewal. Unable to stop the flow, Rose bursts into tears, followed immediately by the Doctor as they whisper to each other, rocking in mutual embrace. Finally able to properly share their thoughts for the young life they'd both lost, Rose and the Doctor cling to each other in support.

"You...changed," Rose observes once the tears have slowed, sliding a hand down the arm of his blue suit.

The Doctor runs his fingers through her hair, cupping the back of her head and kissing her gently before resting his forehead to hers and responding, "Never, my precious girl, it's only a suit." She can hear the relief in his voice even as he sniffs against his own tears.

"Yeah, but the colour..."

"Yeah…" He senses that she knows its significance. He wraps her in thoughts of love and comfort, grief and deliverance from the loneliness.

"Oh, Doctor. I was so horrible to you," Rose wants to continue, but chokes on a sob and her guilt, overcome by her own horrid words from the last time she'd seen him.

 _-Rose, you have nothing to apologise for-_  he says in the privacy of their bond, surrounding her with himself. Before she can respond, he captures her lips with his own, kissing the tears and saltiness from her mouth, eyes, and cheeks, reminding her that she is loved—always and unconditionally, no matter how bad it gets.

Dougie and Ella watch for a moment, focused on the health of the energetic reunion, before they turn away to give the couple some much deserved privacy. They file outside, coming to rest on the benches near the fountain. They are both lost in their own thoughts for several minutes, and it is Ella who first breaks the silence.

"Great Tana, I am weary," she states, bending forward at the waist to cradle her head in her hands, resting her elbows on her knees and squeezing the bridge of her nose.

"Indeed, friend Ella. I too am exhausted. I never expected to become a student at my advanced age," he teases her lightly, still amused by her earlier remark about learned ancestors.

For once, not blushing, Ella chuckles at his comment turning a tired but trully happy smile in his direction. "You were not the only student in the last several hours. Your intuitive grasp of the thought and emotive centers was inspiring, Dougie. Thank you for showing me another way." For the first time she maintains her gaze as they look into one another.

Dougie smiles at her, the skin around his violet eyes crinkling in delight. Taking a breath, he looks around the glade, appreciating it fully for the first time.

"I will miss this," he says, sighing.

"You will not stay, then?" Ella asks, her heart rate stumbling.

"Ella, I am afraid I cannot. It is not time yet. I have much still to do here on the Ood Sphere. I must remain; the Ood need me." His expression isn't sad, but he does feel remorse for reinforcing the obvious disappointment he'd heard in her tone.

"Perhaps it isn't just the Ood, Dougie. I ask to remain as well." The colour is high in her cheeks, but there isn't an iota of embarrassment in her eyes. She is hopeful, but there's no doubt in her decision at all. Dougie is so surprised, his first response is to blink at her like a fool. He is again surprised when he notices his heart pounding in his chest and a near overwhelming desire to scoop her up and spin around in the light of the stars. She wants to stay...with him.

"Ellasiera, I am a remnant, a leftover from a long-forgotten time, and I have a task to complete—one that will take years and perhaps centuries to reach fruition. I cannot ask—"

"You did not ask,  _Dugron_ , I informed. Sometimes seeing a thing is not enough to know the thing. A very good friend of mine recently pointed out the serendipity possible when the Universe has a notion. I wish to know you and be known by you, through the centuries Tana sees fit to bless us with. You need only agree or state clearly that your wishes and mine are not in agreement," she states, sitting up straight and turning to face him. He does not miss the challenge in her eyes.

"Ha! I am blessed indeed," he replies, laughing at the determined glint in her eyes. He has no wish to dissuade her. He just can't believe anything so wonderful could come from the aftermath of his family's tragedy. The gravity of the situation reasserts itself at that thought and he nods solemnly, hiding his joy away for now.

"We are agreed. You may remain with me when the TARDIS departs if you still wish to do so. I expect the Doctor will join us soon. Rose will not be awake long before her healing coma restarts in earnest."

Ella stares at him for a few seconds, gauging his actual feelings. He isn't hiding them from her, and she knows that he is thrilled by her wishes. Mirroring his serious change in nature, she reins in her tumultuous feelings and focuses again on Rose's care.

"Indeed, this time it should proceed in a more healthful manner. I doubt it will last for as long. I do not wish to contemplate how bad the damage was if what we found was only a partial healing." Ella shudders in horror from the thought. The amount of mutilation they had discovered had been horrific. It was obvious by the state of things that Rose had been determined to allow her life to end and would have been successful if not for their intervention. The wounds left by the creature were too deep for the TARDIS to sense, and the only fail-safe had been her premature awakening—her body's last ditch effort to find help.

"Rose is sleeping now, actually," the Doctor says, startling them as he nears their position on the patio.

Both Dougie and Ella stand as the Doctor joins them. "Our bond was restricted for so long that I'm not sure what feels different about it. I'm just glad it's back. Even now, I can feel her more strongly than before she last woke," he says, running his left hand through his hair. His eyes are red and his smile a little brittle, but the lightness in his spirit is obvious for both Dougie and Ella to see without trying.

"Doctor, we—" Dougie begins, but is interrupted by the Doctor.

"No, let me," he says, raising a hand and smiling at them. "I... _we_...can't thank you enough, really. Dougie, once again you saved me from myself. And Ella...my only regret is that your time on the TARDIS is so short. I hope when we meet again, both of you can stay for more than a day or two."

"But Doctor, how…" Dougie trails off as the Doctor looks at him very seriously and lays a solitary finger against the side of his nose in some sign of confident secrecy. With a hop to his step, he turns and leaves, heading away from the garden and back to the rest of the TARDIS.

Dougie and Ella regard each other in shock.

"Time Lords. They are infinitely fascinating," Ella states, shaking her head in amazement.

"Yes, apparently so," Dougie agrees in wonder, staring after the Doctor's retreating back.

* * *

The sound of dishes scraping against wood and the most delicious smell pulls Rose from the warm nowhere she'd been drifting in.

"Here, sweetheart, I made you a proper fry-up. Look at you. How you ever do all that runnin' 's beyond me, skinny as you are. Doesn't Himself ever feed you?"

Blinking her eyes open, Rose finds herself looking at the ceiling of her old bedroom at the Estate. Wow, was it really  **that**  pink? Turning her head against her pillow, she observes her mum laying out a tray next to the bed heaped with food, all steaming and gorgeous. Her eyes cause her belly to growl; the smell though, now makes her a little nauseous.

"Mum?"

"Well, who else, the Queen? Might be friends with Harriet Jones, you are, but it's jus' your 'ol mum today," the figure replies with her own brusque good humour, looking at her daughter with deep eyes. Eyes filled with too much understanding and a sadness that twinges at Rose's heart—no…hearts!

"Mum! I…this must be a dream," Rose says, sitting up quickly in bed. Has she done this all before? The covers fall to her lap as the room swims in a moment of vertigo. Clutching at the pillows around her, Rose waits for the room to settle.

"I'm dreaming. Mum…why…why am I crying?" Rose asks, puzzled, putting a hand to her cheek where she'd felt the tears gathering. Looking at the fresh moisture on her fingers, she presses the other hand between her breasts, feeling both hearts beating strongly. Looking back up at her mum in confusion, Rose can see tears gathered in her eyes as well.

"Oh, Rose, sweetheart. He told me everything. The Doctor, he…" Jackie clutches a fist to her mouth, closing her eyes as her own tears squeeze through her dark lashes.

With a Time Lord's clarity, Rose suddenly knows exactly where she is, feels exactly when she is, and understands everything that's happened up to this point. She even vaguely remembers her mum's warm palm against her brow last night, going on about how they could stay as long as they wanted...and thank you for coming back...thank you for bringing Rose...home. Keeping the eerie familiarity of the situation to herself, Rose asks the first question burning in her mind.

"Mum, where's the Doctor?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yea, we're almost finished with Midnight and all its aftermath! I apologise for the little cliffie, but it was the most logical place to break the chapter. It doesn't lead to more Doctor/Rose angst, promise. :-)
> 
> So I have a question for all my readers out there. The next chapter is well over 7000 words to wrap all my threads together and finish this portion of the story so we can be off to our next adventure. I could split it into two, or just lay it all on you in its gluttonous entirety. Please, let me know what you prefer. Thanks!


	36. Solace in Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Perspectives are given.

**36 Solace in Time**

_The previous evening…_

Jackie Tyler curls up in a blanket on her sofa in front of the television watching a rerun of Eastenders. She pours her second glass of wine, deciding that this is a good night. She has had a few charitable thoughts about Elton (he did have a nice bum), she's just had a short but welcome visit from Rose and the Doctor, and this is her favourite episode. "You ain't my mother!" She chuckles to herself; that line gets her every time.

She raises the glass of wine to her lips when she feels the slight pop and an incongruous wind starts up in her flat. She looks to her right to see the blue box fade into reality. Once firmly in position, the TARDIS stands silently.

"Oi! What d'ya forget this time?" she calls out, knowing that either her daft child or that dafter alien will come out soon. Jackie is pretty sure she hears a heavy sigh that raises tiny alarm bells in her mind before the door starts to open. "Good thing I moved that end table. My gran gave that to me, and—What are you wearing!?"Jackie exclaims when she sees the Doctor step from the TARDIS in a blue suit...alone.

"Rose is okay, Jackie. I promise, Rose is fine...now. But we need to talk, you and I, before I can let you see her," he says slowly, hesitantly.

Past the blaring alarms in her mind, Jackie eyes the Doctor critically, instantly cataloguing all the pieces that are out of place: hair longer, circles under his eyes, hideous suit, thinner frame. All these pieces add up in her mind to a conclusion that is a unique complication of her daughter's choices in friends, but does nothing to alleviate her worry.

"How far ahead are ya, then?" she asks in astute observation.

"What?"

"You're from my future, you plum. I may live on an Estate, but I'm not stupid. How far?"

Now it's the Doctor's turn to eye her where she reclines on the sofa. She's just as he remembers her, which is good for Rose, and this is before…before so much happens.

"I hope no one ever thinks of you as stupid, Jackie. You're just as brilliant as your daughter," he tells her with a slight smile, tiredly rubbing his eyes.

"Well, don't get ahead of yourself. Answer my question," Jackie demands. Waiting for him to get the point will make her go grey in a minute.

The Doctor walks around the table and sits on the sofa next to Jackie, tucking his right leg beneath him, so he can face her.

This is another anomaly; the Doctor would  _never_  willingly join her on the sofa. The screeching of alarm bells in Jackie's mind are nearly deafening now, and she feels real fear creep into her belly.

"As I figure it, nearly five years, but Jackie," he says quickly to forestall her first questions, "listen carefully. I can't stay, and I can't tell you anymore until—"

"Oh my God, I'm dead! I'm dead, aren't I? That's why you're bein' all weird, and Rose can't see me, and—"

"No! No, Jackie, you're are most definitely not dead. Very, very not dead," he says with a reassuring smile, amused at her outburst and the mutual interruptions. He hopes she never changes.

"Well, then why the hell are you here and not visiting future me?" she asks belligerently, crossing her arms over her ample bosom.

"I need you to make me a promise first, Jacqueline Angela Suzette Prentice Tyler." At her full name, Jackie's eyes get big, and she nods, pressing her lips together. The expression on his face is anything but human, and it quells her natural tendency to question first, listen later.

"I am going to share with you what's happened for us, because Rose needs you." The Doctor holds his hand up for silence when she opens her mouth. She snaps it shut with an audible click and glares at him. "Before we can stay, you have a choice to make. Option one: we stay, I tell you everything, and you get to see Rose, but after...I will have to lock these memories away. You'll get them back, but you can't have them now. Option two is that we leave, no Rose, no damaging memories to hide."

"That's not a choice, you prat! I'll do whatever's necessary for me to see Rose; you should know that by now!" Jackie sort of wants to smack him just for good measure. What kind of a mother does he think she is?

Then, she finally notices how still he is. He's usually so animated, full of life, and downright annoying with all his bouncing around and  _improvements_. This is a completely different man, and he feels...broken. Jackie takes a deep breath. He's still waiting for her answer, despite her outburst. No matter how alien he can seem, they need her, the both of them.

"One question: will it hurt? The memory thing—whatever you do to hide them. Not that it really matters, but will it hurt?" She turns her head away and squints at him, waiting for the answer she doesn't want to hear.

Relaxing once he's fairly sure he isn't about to be slapped, the Doctor stares at her a moment and then bursts into laughter. Gales and gales of laughter, like he hasn't had so much as a giggle in weeks.

Jackie stares at him at first and then glares. When the laughter doesn't stop, she finally rolls her eyes and laughs with him. He does have a nice laugh, and it's just a bit infectious. She can see the bouncy Doctor hiding inside it.

"Oh, Jackie, thank you for that. It feels like I haven't laughed in ages. The look on your face...oh, my sides hurt." He chuckles again.

Regaining control of himself the Doctor answers her, "No, Jackie, there's no pain at all. You'll take a wee kip and wake up not knowing we were even here."

"Alright, fine then. I promise. Now, where's Rose? And you'd better get to talking 'cause five years is a long time, and I want all the details."

"She's sleeping in the TARDIS; she doesn't know we're here yet."

"Alright, go on then, get started. I'll make us some tea."

* * *

There are only a few times the Doctor cringed or ducked from an assumed attack when he dropped another nugget of incredible happenstance. Jackie even takes the fact that Rose was a fresh Time Lord well—especially since it had saved her life. She can hardly believe how her own life is about to change—ghosts, Pete Tyler, parallel universes. Her head spins at all the possibilities, but she tries to focus on everything the Doctor is relating to her.

As she listens to him unravel the nearly two years he and her daughter have had together, his voice takes on a more hollow quality when they land at Midnight. Jackie knows he's not telling her everything. How could he? And truthfully, she doesn't need the intimate details, so to speak, but she does notice a pattern. Everything revolves around Rose. Rose was rescued, Rose lost him and rescued him. Rose did this, and Rose did that. Rose, lost the baby.

As soon as he mentions Rose had gotten pregnant, Jackie knows. She knows exactly why they're here, why he'd willingly to risk everything so Rose can see her mum. Jackie is in tears well before the end of the story, and is pressed up against the Doctor's side clutching his hand by the time he's caught them up to the present.

"What about you, Doctor?" Jackie asks softly. She knows he's brilliant at hiding himself in his crazy words; she's been witness to it a couple of times. Her Pete had done the same thing, burying himself in some new scheme, determined that he could make a life for them if could just catch a break. And in some other universe, of all places, he'd done just that. Will wonders ever cease?

"What?" His surprised exclamation comes out more waspish sounding than he'd intended, but he had been telling Jackie about Rose. He wasn't particularly interested in talking about himself.

"Who's been there for you since you lost your son?" she asks carefully. Jackie knows that he hasn't been alone, but that doesn't mean that he'd let anyone help  _him_ unless it had directly concerned Rose. Jackie had never before spent enough time with the Doctor to see the similarities between he and Pete. It is a somewhat startling realisation for her, but also enlightening. Jackie has a moment of clarity and feels she has something to give the Doctor, as well—perspective.

"Did you talk to anyone about how you felt, or did you just worry about Rose?"

He stares at her for a tense moment and though his face is carefully blank, she can see a myriad of emotions flick through his expressive eyes. Uncomfortable with the question, The Doctor falls back on the old reliable, "Oh, you know me, Jackie; I'm always alright. Rose needed—"

"Bollocks! Yes, she did, and I appreciate that you realise how much was Rose was hurting and needed help. But so do you, ya daft alien! You're no Spock, now are ya?" Jackie asks in exasperation, annoyed that he's choosing to ignore her point.

"You haven't seen the new movies yet, Jackie, just you wait! Spock— Ow!"

"Don't you try to hide from me, you plum. I was married to a man that could hide himself away and only show the world what he wanted them to see. I'm not daft!"

The Doctor desperately wants to jump off the sofa and either pace or run and hide in the TARDIS, but Jackie has a death grip on his hand, despite the fact the other is free enough to have just whacked him once. He satisfies himself with turning slightly away from her so he can stare at the wall instead of into her oh-so-compassionate and understanding gaze

"Jackie, what do you want me to say? That it was one of the worst days of my life? It was. That I tried desperately to save Rose and our son, but was completely powerless to do so? I did.  _That I feel like I completely failed my family before it was even barely started? I DO!"_ Shaking with emotion, he hadn't meant to shout the last, but his ability to continue repressing was a little overworked recently.

Taking a breath and starting over the Doctor tries to continue, "Jackie, I don't…I can't even begin…" Gently releasing her hand, he leans forward resting his head in his hands. He's still trembling, but he's trying to stay in control. He should have at least one thing that he can be the master of, even if it's only his emotions.

"You feel like your entire world shattered. Like everything you were building and counting on was suddenly yanked out from under ya. You felt like a stranger in your own skin, because you were powerless to change anything. All you could do was hang on and hope for the best, though you kept none for yourself. Is that about right?"

He'd looked up from his hands about halfway through her passionate tirade. Now, he's blinking at her in wonder. Not trusting himself to speak, he nods in reply to Jackie's question. A gordian knot of pent up feeling loosening just a bit in his gut. She'd put to words exactly how he'd felt, better even than he could have—had he actually tried.

"I know grief, Doctor, better than you realise. And I don't need to be a million year-old alien to understand how you're feeling. You came here for Rose, but I'm here for  _both_  of ya."

Jackie startles him by pulling him into a hug, and he squeaks at first, sure that she's about to choke him to death. But then he hears her murmured words of comfort, and he relaxes. Touching her, he can sense that she's devastated by all she's learned, but her default is still to comfort him. He hadn't realised how much he needed it—from her in particular—until it was offered so freely, so unconditionally. It must be a mum thing.

They stay like that for several minutes, the Doctor's head on Jackie's shoulder, and their arms draped loosely around each other, thinking. The Doctor marvels at how Jackie isn't nearly as scary as he'd once thought, and Jackie ruminates on how much can happen in so short a time and how much one moment can affect the rest of one's life.

This daft alien has given her daughter everything he has just for love. But he needs to remember to keep some for himself.

The Doctor promised she could have these memories back eventually, and when she does, at least she will know that her daughter walked through forever with a man who loved her as much as she deserved.

While the Doctor enters the TARDIS again to retrieve Rose, Jackie readies her room—turning back the covers, setting out her old favourite robe and slippers and making her a quick cuppa just in case she wakes up. The Doctor said she probably wouldn't, but Tyler women are unpredictable; he'd better get that through his thick skull right away.

Returning, the Doctor follows Jackie into the startlingly pink room that was Rose's. Laying her carefully in the bed, Jackie tucks her in while thanking the Doctor for bringing her home. It's a little overwhelming to think that this is her daughter—her now alien daughter—from the future. No one would ever believe her.

Rose doesn't awaken, but she snuggles more deeply into the covers in much the same way a kitten or puppy would. The Doctor smiles, telling Jackie that she's just sleeping now and will probably awaken tomorrow. He kisses her forehead and stares at her for a long minute before he retreats to the TARDIS, claiming repairs. Jackie watches him go, and then stays up into the wee hours observing her daughter. Outwardly, she looks nearly the same. Her hair is now naturally blonde, longer and a little curlier, but beautiful. Other than being too damn skinny, her skin glows with health. The Doctor had assured her that Rose may have become a Time Lord, but that didn't change who she is, who Jackie had helped her become.

"There's no one like our Rose, Jackie, no one in the entire universe."

* * *

Wiping the back of her hand across her eyes, Jackie gives Rose a watery smile as she sits at the foot of the bed before answering her question. "Oh, himself'll be along. Parked that box of his in the parlour, if you believe it. Grand as you please, all tucked up in the corner. He's in there now. Said somethin' about repairs or what not."

Rose tries reaching through their bond and receives an instant and loving reply. She can see him wedged amidst the wires and tubes beneath the console from his perspective.

_-Doctor, how?-_

_-Rose it's complicated, but we have some time. Don't worry about anything. Enjoy visiting with your mum. I told her everything. Well, not everything, but…you know. I'll be along. The TARDIS and I aren't going anywhere, my love-_

_-Oh! Thank you-_

Instead of answering, he sends her a wave that encompasses all he feels for her better than any words could ever manage. Rose's eyes shine with a layer of tears when she looks back to her mum, smiling.

"Mum, I…" Where should she start? It's been so long and so much has happened.

"Sweetheart, I'll be right back with tea, and we'll catch up properly. Now tuck in. New Time Lord stomach or no, I can 'ear it growlin' at me. Back in a mo!" Jackie bustles out of the bedroom, where she takes a moment for herself, leaning against the wall and pressing her fingers to her eyes. The Doctor had warned her, told her everything he thought she needed to know to prepare her for an older, sadder, and barely healed Rose. But there was no way to ready her for the actual moment. In Rose's eyes Jackie could see everything—every bit of pain, every sorrow—and in their gold-flecked brown depths, she'd also felt the alienness of her daughter for the first time.

Jackie shakes herself as she pushes away from the wall and continues to the kitchen. Alien or no, that is her Rose in there, and she's been making her tea for most of her life; she isn't going to stop now. They  _need_  her. She may not understand everything that's going to happen or has happened, and she knows she doesn't need to, but she understands the pain of loss.

Jackie sets about the ritual of making the perfect cuppa. If there's a hurt in the universe that can't be soothed with tea, she doesn't know it.

* * *

Rose watches her mum leave the room. Then she looks around herself at the debris of a twenty-year-old human girl. Many of these items had seemed so important at the time—that picture of her and Shereen when they had first learned to drive, her bronze medal. Rose remembers that she never came in here once when she'd popped in with the Bazoolium as a present, and then, only hours later, her world had shattered. She has a completely different perspective now on what's important.

Her stomach does indeed growl again as she looks over to the food. The thought of the meat and eggs makes her feel sick, but she does reach for a piece of toast and lumps a spoonful of beans on it. Her first bite flips a switch, and she eats both pieces of toast, all the beans, and the tomato before her mum can come back with the tea.

"Tell me that turning into an alien didn't make you a vegetarian!" Rose hears her mum exclaim as she comes into the room with two cups of steaming tea in hand and observes the nearly empty plate.

"No mum," Rose replies with a bit of a smile. "I just didn't feel like it today. Everything else was delicious though, thanks." She takes the offered cup of tea and inhales its rich aroma. The first sip is like a crash of heaven in her mouth. God, she'd missed her mum's tea.

Jackie scrutinises Rose closely, seeing the tired lines around her eyes, the tight set to her generous lips, and the furrow in her brow. Making a decision, she moves to the other side of the bed and climbs in with Rose, sliding over to touch shoulders with her daughter. They talk about inconsequentials as they blow on their tea, but even the story about Bev running into her new boyfriend with a shopping cart barely pulls a smile to Rose's face. Her twenty-year-old self would have been trying not to snort her tea.

Sighing inwardly, Jackie opens her mouth to voice her question, but Rose beats her to it.

"I don't want to talk about it, mum."

"Rose, sweetheart, you need to talk to someone. That's why the Doctor brought you here."

"I don't  _need_  to talk to anyone. If he told you everything, then you know Dougie and Ella fixed whatever was wrong. I'm fine."

"You're  _not_  fine, Rose. Listen, I know—"

"NO, YOU DON'T!" Rose shouts at her mum in an overwhelming burst of emotion. Setting her tea aside, she stands up from the bed and moves shakily to the window. "No one knows," she mutters to herself, looking out at the neighbors windows across the alley.

Oh, she remembers this—the anger, the surety that no one anywhere could possibly understand what you're going through, the defensiveness. Oh, Jackie remembers very well.

"Rose," she calls out quietly. Her daughter doesn't turn around, but she shifts at the window, her back still turned.

Taking a deep breath, Jackie prepares to tell Rose something she'd never planned on sharing with her daughter—hoped against all hopes that she would never have to experience it herself.

"Rose, I know because I lost your baby brother," Jackie says to the air between them while she turns her teacup in her hands, staring at the dregs in the bottom. She looks up at the rustle of cloth.

"What did you say, mum?" Rose has turned from the window and faces Jackie. The brightness behind her makes her look even more pale and fragile than she had in bed.

"That day at the church, when your dad died...I was pregnant." Rose stares at her mum for a long minute before sitting at the end of the bed.

Jackie takes a deep breath, feeling the nervous butterflies in her stomach. Deciding she's already said too much to go back, Jackie begins, the words pouring out of her.

"I had no idea at the time. We'd only had sex once since you were born and we'd used protection. We'd been fightin' all the time, so it never occurred to me. I assumed the signs were because I'd just had you; how was I to know different? Then...well, then your dad was gone and it was another month 'fore I knew for sure.

"I was so mad at the world for takin' your dad from me, leaving me a single parent. I felt guilty, too. We'd had words that mornin' that I was afraid I'd spend my life regrettin'. I was a right mess. But then, I found out I was pregnant again. I knew, no matter how many people told me I couldn't know for sure, I knew it was a boy, and I decided your dad forgave me. Here was my chance to make up for all the harsh words." A pained chuckle that is more than half sob escapes Jackie as she glances up at Rose's wide eyes.

"I had all the plans in the world for my son, my little Peter. It seemed like all I could talk about; everyone gave me guff about it. 'You already have a daughter, Jackie.' 'How ya gonna raise two kids alone on the Estate?' 'You better find a husband, and quick, Jackie!'"

"All my friends at the time were  _so_  helpful." Jackie rolls her eyes grandly and pulls a chuckle from Rose with her sarcasm. Flashing a more grateful smile at her, Jackie looks down into her cup again to continue.

"I told 'em all to shove their ideas up their arses! I was gonna be fine. You'd lay on my belly, Rose and babble at him, giggling when he kicked. Your first word was Peter."

Jackie closes her eyes and breathes in deeply through her nose. She hasn't dwelt on these thoughts in years. Looking back on it like this, she realises she wasn't quite right in the head at the time, probably from grief. Rose wouldn't have turned out to be the strong and independant woman she is if events hadn't happened the way they did. Jackie can see that clearly now.

"Mum, you don't have to tell me any more. I'm sorry I yelled at you; it wasn't right," Rose apologises, her eyes wet in sympathy.

"No, Rose, I do. I haven't told anyone, and I need to," she says a little thickly, but with determination in her eyes. Jackie reaches out to pat Rose on the knee, and Rose scoots closer, taking her mum's hand in her own.

"You were nearly a year and a half old when my labour started. Your gran Prentice was stayin' with us to help out at the time, and you stayed with her when Bev took me to hospital. Four days later I came home, alone. My little Peter was stillborn."

Rose gasps, clutching her mum's hand as she brings her other fist to her mouth. Stillborn. She had carried her own son for six months and, thanks to higher technology and more advanced physiology, had known him intimately, but this—planning, loving, dreaming for months to have the magical day finally arrive and then end in tragedy...

Jackie smiles at Rose and caresses their clasped hands, grateful for the contact.

"It's been near twenty years for me, but I can still remember everything about him. They couldn't say why he died, some universal mystery, but they let me hold him for a bit to say goodbye, and he was so perfect, Rose—so very perfect—even had a little tuft of red hair."

At this point, the tears begin to flow for both women and they embrace, rocking each other in mutual understanding. Once the initial storm passes they stay wrapped in each other's comforting arms and Rose tells her mum everything she remembers about her son—all the moments observed and the dreams pondered.

The Doctor peeks in on them at one point when Rose is telling Jackie about their son pitching a mental fit when his father had been such a prat in the Music Room while learning to manifest. The laughter of both women swells his hearts and follows him back to the TARDIS. This has absolutely been worth all the risks just to hear his wife laugh again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really, I was going to give you gluttonous entirety, but then, in the editing process, I added 1000 more words. Seriously, 9000+ words is ridiculous, but the sections I added were so necessary. So here is the first half, and I will post the second, Traveling Eternity's Road, on Monday. Cheers!


	37. Traveling Eternity's Road

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose and the Doctor have a moment for themselves, and they take Jackie traveling.

**Traveling Eternity's Road**

 

"Mum! Seriously, what's all the fuss? We're just going out for dinner," Rose says in a huff, batting her mum's hands away from her hair for the thousandth time.

"For the first time in months! An' I know where you're goin', and you should look nice. 'Sides, himself's wearing a tux. He said so," Jackie replies with a smug smile, patting a blonde curl into place.

Groaning, Rose whines, "Not the tux of doom! Everytime he wears it, bad things happen, mum!"

"Said you'd mention that, and he says it won't be that one," Jackie beams at her daughter in the mirror when their eyes meet, and Rose chuckles. "No telling what he'll be wearing then."

It's been just over a month since they arrived, and Rose is feeling more and more like herself. She thinks of her son every day, misses him every day, and she and the Doctor make a point to share a thought about him every day, but he no longer occupies every space between every moment. That first morning with her mum made all the difference. Whenever she had a question or felt like she'd somehow done something wrong, her mum was right there with an understanding word or her own memories to help Rose along.

Rose had thought she could deal with her grief and loss alone, but she'd been so wrong. Having her mum reminded her every day to be grateful. The days were counting down and she knew it. Rose already decided that she didn't want to be there when the ghost shifts started, and the Doctor felt they only had another week or so before Torchwood started mucking about with the fabric of reality.

Rose could see her husband was becoming antsy, too. The Doctor and her mum were getting along better than she'd ever hoped, even after he failed to improve another toaster. They'd found a shared goal in Rose's happiness. And while sometimes Rose wanted to scream when she felt like they were smothering her, the mood would generally pass quickly.

The Doctor spent most of his time in the TARDIS during the day, coming out for meals and the occasional dose of television. But for the most part, he tinkered under the console or deep within the ship, taking the example of the new desktop as an opportunity to upgrade some systems he'd been ignoring.

Rose's first glimpse of the new desktop had left her speechless just within the doors. When she'd finally gotten around to exploring, the TARDIS had preened for days under the exclamations of surprise, wonder, and approval. Pleased with Her success, She chose to shock the Doctor less often when he was mucking around in Her wiring as a reward.

Tonight, the Doctor has a little surprise for Rose, and Jackie's in on it. He, the TARDIS, and Jackie have been working on this for the past week or so, and tonight will bear their sneaky fruit.

From Rose's vanity they hear the TARDIS doors squeak open, followed closely by a muffled curse that draws a grin to the face of both women.

"Every time! You'd think that plum would remember where the table is, but no," Jackie whispers in her daughter's ear, and they both giggle. Seeing her husband's shadow darken the door, Rose turns and gasps at how handsome he is.

Dressed in a burgundy velvet tuxedo with a matching tie and black dress shirt, Rose is completely incapable of words, and her mother gently closes her gaping jaw with a finger. The Doctor grins in satisfaction, turning for the women and preening in delight at their shock.

Returning the favour, Rose stands and turns to face the Doctor in a full length dress of glittering tiny black sequins over a red so dark it too is almost black. The slip beneath the dress is a bright red and peeks through the side along a slit that begins at her thigh. Her hair is piled on her head in a cascade of curls, with just a few framing her face. Above her left ear, Rose's mum had slid a hairpin of clustered red poppies in amongst the curls where they glow happily.

The pleased smirk on the Doctor's face freezes at the sight of his wife. Even before Midnight, it had been quite some time since they last dressed up to go out and enjoy a night on the town. Thinking back, he realises it was their last night on San Helios, the night they'd lain in the sand as the suns set, the night they'd made their son. His smile turns a little bittersweet, and Rose knows exactly why, having mirrored his thoughts with her own.

Rose steps to him, sliding her arms around his chest and leans up to kiss him. They will always remember their son with a twinge of regret and opportunities missed, but Rose refuses to have Midnight be the only part of his short story that gets remembered. The night of his creation will always be one of her favourite memories, and she makes sure the Doctor senses that from her, sending him a naughty moment from that night as an image through their bond.

He blushes lightly and laughs, hugging her closer. Over her shoulder he shares a wink and a grin with her mother, who's still masquerading in her favourite pink track suit. After they leave, she'll change and meet them at the restaurant later, once they're finished with dinner. She can't wait for dessert!

* * *

"Doctor, tonight has been perfect. Thank you," Rose says, holding his hand across the table. And she means it. Everything from the view across London, the food, the service, the wine, the music, and most definitely the company, has been perfection. She can't imagine it getting any better.

"Oh, I assure you, Rose Tyler, it can get better," he tells her with a cheeky wink, catching her thought. The Doctor gets to his feet and stands next to her chair holding out his hand for her. "Would you dance with me?"

With a hesitant smile, she takes his offered hand and allows him to help her to her feet. Walking her to the dance floor, the live band strikes up a waltz, which he leads her through effortlessly. An hour passes without them noticing when the Doctor spies Jackie near the window. Spinning Rose out and bringing her back, the Doctor pulls her close swaying to the music and catches the eye of the maître d', nodding slightly.

"Rose Tyler, have I told you lately that I love you?" he asks, his voice a little husky, and he surprises himself by feeling a little nervous.

"Every day, Doctor, but I never get tired of hearing it," Rose replies, and he can hear the grin in her voice.

The music comes to an end, and there's an expectant hush in the room. Rose abruptly picks up on the excitement and looks around, suddenly spotting her mother dressed in a gorgeous and unusually tasteful gold dress of artfully draped silk. Rose's eyes nearly bug out of her head when Jack Harkness steps up beside her mum dressed in a cobalt blue silk suit with black shirt and tie. Seeing him, Rose now distinguishes the buzz that denotes their 'future Jack' from all the other noisy minds in the room. And by the weight of knowledge in his eyes, she also knows that there's another Jack Harkness currently still in Cardiff. Linked arm in arm the unlikely duo move toward where Rose and the Doctor are standing in the middle of a now conspicuously empty dance floor.

Rose's eyes snap back to where the Doctor has never let go of her hands, and sees that he's now kneeling at her feet. Kissing both her palms, he releases her right to pull a small velvet box from his pocket. He keeps her left hand in his as he captures her gaze and her mum and Jack come to stand beside them—Jackie next to Rose and Jack beside the Doctor.

"Rose Marion Tyler, you have never asked for more than I was capable of giving. Sometimes this meant that I had to get over myself to realise I was worth the effort, but you always knew. I have never regretted a single instant that we've known each other. You are my wife, my lover, and my inspiration. When we were bonded it was the best day of my life, but now I realise it was missing something...two somethings, and they're here now." The Doctor nods at Jackie and Jack and receives their nods in return.

"I also lately realised that I had not recalled a small but vastly important detail." Jack takes the box from the Doctor so he's only holding a ring.

Rose glances away from the Doctor for one amazed second at her mum's stifled sniff, seeing her gingerly dab at her eyes to not smudge her makeup. Rose feels the Doctor take her ring finger between his long elegant ones, and looks back down to watch him slide a dark gold ring onto her slim finger. At its apex is set a shimmering emerald green stone that seems to shift and breathe, its colour so clear it breaks her heart a little—it's exactly the colour...

"Would you do me the honour of wearing this as a token of our forever and all its pieces that will never be forgotten, all the joy yet to come, and all the adventures we have yet to find?"

Speechless, Rose stares at the Doctor for a long second before she grabs him by the lapels of his suit, yanking him to his feet, and proceeds to snog him senseless.

"She said, yes!" Jack yells to the crowd of hopeful, clueless onlookers.

There's a general shout of congratulations and a chorus of huzzahs. The music starts back up in earnest and the floor is cleared for Rose and the Doctor to have their dance— _Paper Moon_. As he spins her across the floor, Rose laughs in giddy delight, beaming at her husband.

The next dance for the Doctor and Jackie, is  _Wink And A Smile_ , sung by Harry Connick Jr. Rose can hardly contain her laughter at how cheeky the song is, and she just knows her mother must have picked it.

Next up is Rose and Jack and of course, it's  _Moonlight Serenade_. How could he have picked any other song? They smile at each other as he dances her around the floor thinking of their first Doctor and chance meetings. Before its end, the new, new Doctor cuts in to finish the song out with Rose, to much hilarity at Jack's over-acted rejection.

The rest of the night is filled with laughter and good times. It only takes one glass of wine and Jackie spills the entire story, much to the Doctor's good-humoured embarrassment.

It was Jackie that suggested (perhaps a little forcefully) to the Doctor that on Earth marriage involved a ring and no matter how  _not human_  Rose was currently, it wouldn't change the fact that she'd grown up that way. Jackie also knew that if they planned something a little grandiose, then she could be there. This was her only opportunity, and she wanted her future self to know that though she missed the weird alien  _bonding_  ceremony (whatever that meant), she was at the reception, and watched the Doctor place a ring on her daughter's finger like a proper gentleman should.

It was also Jackie who suggested the Doctor should invite his friend Jack. He should have someone stand up for him, and they  _were_  friends, right? Jackie didn't need to know that he'd taken the TARDIS out when she and Rose went shopping and retrieved their future Jack, the knowing ship landing them on the 1st of January, 2007. Now he knew why the 2009 Jack had given him that date. Jack had looked harried and a little sad, but excited when he burst through doors of the TARDIS once She'd surprised him and landed inside the Torchwood 3 Hub.

Jack had readily agreed to the Doctor's proposition and thoroughly enjoyed harassing the Doctor about timelines, crossing them, and the implied dangers. But when told where they were in their timeline, he'd sobered immediately and helped pilot them back to the flat in contemplative silence.

Much, much later, after putting a happily inebriated Jackie to bed, the trio lounge in the TARDIS library, talking more easily than they ever have. The hulking shape of the first generation Harkness Harmoniser chirping away quietly to itself where it's working in the middle of the room.

"That thing's going to get smaller, right?" Jack asks, eyeing the unit that's currently the size of a large dog.

"Of course! I plan on it being wearable—a wristband maybe or perhaps even a ring, depending on how small I can actually make it," the Doctor replies with a superior smirk.

"I told him you'd look like Peter Venkman if you tried to wear that thing," Rose laughs, gesturing toward the big beeping lump. Jack snorts at the reference.

"And no, before either of you insults my magnificent creation further, it will not beep. Can't exactly be discreet if you're beeping all over the place. Not that I generally think of you as particularly discreet, Harkness." They all laugh at the good-natured ribbing.

Rose looks between her husband and her dear friend with happiness. Looking down at her hand brings another smile to her face. She doesn't think she's smiled this much in ages. She looks up, catching the Doctor's eyes as a soft tendril of love wraps around her mind. Giving her a lopsided grin of his own, they both focus on Jack as he starts speaking again.

"I always wondered how long you were gone that time. I know it was only a couple of weeks for Donna and I, but I just had a feeling you were gone longer. Truthfully we knew you  _needed_  to be gone longer." His eyes are guarded, but the smile is genuine as he recalls the memory.

"Thanks for coming to get me this time. I can't tell you how much I miss this," he says, gesturing at the TARDIS. She flickers her lights, and they all feel her let him know that She misses him, too. "Thanks to you, too, ol' girl," he replies, looking up at the ceiling.

"And truthfully, I  _miss_  you two." This Jack is so much better at hiding his feelings, but in this instance she can see and feel his sincerity.

He's mentioned Donna several times, completely casually. Rose wonders if maybe she's the one who's making a bigger thing of the current lack of Donna than it is. Rose doesn't want to think Jack and Donna would break up, but it's better than the alternative. Rose gazes at him, thinking about where future Donna is, when a thought strikes her.

"You knew! You helped us out a couple of months ago for us, but in your future and told us when to come get you. You knew then, but you even knew this time when the Doctor came to get you. You already knew about Midnight." Her tone isn't accusing, but he looks away guiltily.

"Yes, I know, so I would have then too. You unlocked all those memories for me in that chippy, Rosie—many you  _still_  don't have. Most of them are great, but some...well, some aren't. Midnight...is the worst... I can tell you that, but I won't tell you anything else; you both know I can't." It's obvious to both Rose and the Doctor that he's hiding things from them, but like he said, he has to.

The Doctor gazes steadily at Jack, the previous carefree mood lagging. He knew about that moment in the chippy. It's one that he regrets for Rose, though he can't see how she could have managed any other way in those circumstances. Damn bothersome, curious Harkness!

Sighing, Rose looks from her hands up to Jack's remorseful eyes. "I know, Jack. Thank you for telling us it doesn't get worse. That's a good thing, right?" she asks, her eyes shining, but with a genuine smile. Sniffing, she laughs a little, gesturing towards the harmoniser, "Ha! Without that accidental chippy night we wouldn't be here now, enjoying each other's company so comfortably."

Rose reaches for her glass of wine, raising it in a toast. When the Doctor and Jack mirror her, she says, "Here's to friends old and new, family, and magnificent Time Ships! May they always bring comfort in times of stress and hardship, and may they always be there when you need them most."

All three of them privately wish very hard for this to be true in the future. They all drink and manage to smile naturally, determined that their fine mood be restored. They talk into the very wee hours, before Jack suggests they take him back to his time.

"Jackie will be up soon, and I know you don't want her wondering why I'm not the one she thinks I am. When are you leaving?"

"A week or so, before the ghost shifts start. I don't want to be here for that. Leaving will be hard enough, but knowing what's coming…" Rose trails off, shaking her head at the unspooling memories.

"I hear that, darlin', but you'll want to leave soon, then. By the date on that menu earlier you only have three days before Hartman gets the go ahead for those experiments, over my objections, and Canary Wharf lights up like a Christmas tree in the Void."

Finding out they only have three days puts a bit of a damper on things, but truthfully Rose feels okay with leaving. She'd needed the Doctor's gift of this time with her mum, and the fact that Jackie will regain the memories after Rose steps through the portal to the Sphynx and her new life, makes it worth every moment of the upcoming farewell.

The trio finish their wine and move to the console room to return Jack to the beginning of 2007. Arriving the day after he'd been picked up, they land in the Hub to the startled and wide-eyed team of Torchwood 3.

They spend the morning meeting everyone. Toshiko and the Doctor laugh about meeting before when he recognises her and then has to explain why she doesn't recognise him. Jack introduces Rose to Ianto shyly, and she greets him gladly, though still wondering about Donna. She and Gwen hit it off like houses, and both Rose and the Doctor decide Owen is an arse. Owen tried briefly to impress the Doctor with his knowledge of alien species and was immediately, though goodnaturedly, trounced.

Jack's goodbye is bittersweet, but Rose promises they'll be back soon with another version of the harmoniser. He truly smiles when the Doctor readily agrees with her, reiterating that the next will be much smaller.

There are waves and hugs, and then they're in the Vortex. The TARDIS allows the Doctor to pilot them to a landing exactly thirty seconds after they'd left and they step out into the flat just before dawn. The Doctor takes Rose's hand, and pulls her outdoors and up stairs to the roof where they watch the sun rise over London, wrapped in each other's arms.

The next two days are quick and busy. Jackie wants to make up as much time as possible and store up as many memories as she can for the time when they'll be all she has of them. Both Rose and the Doctor understand, indulging Jackie's whims and using the TARDIS to go places they couldn't reach in such a limited time frame otherwise.

So it's forty-eight hours, twelve beaches, two mountain ranges, six theaters, three pyramids, a great wall, and the moon (just because they could) before they tumble out of the TARDIS exhausted but happy into the night before the ghost shifts begin.

"Oh, sweetheart, I don't think I can see anything else impressive. I'm all filled up, might just burst. Ya never know," Jackie says facetiously, throwing herself down on the sofa dramatically.

Laughing, Rose teases her mum back, "I don't think anyone has ever over-vacationed, mum!"

"It was so hard to not buy any souvenirs! I really wanted those little red dogs they sold on the Wall...oh well." She sounds disappointed, but her eyes are closed and a happy smile rests on her lips.

Rose looks, really looks at her mum, and loves seeing her so happy. "Mum, we're going to go ahead and leave now," she says as the Doctor returns to her side, a small bag of items they couldn't leave behind in his hand. She'd already absconded with a few things she wanted to have with her.

Blinking, Jackie sits up and looks carefully at her daughter and son-in-law. Rose is standing confidently in a pair of jeans, a blue hoodie and Beatles t-shirt. The Doctor stands beside her, his hand on her shoulder still wearing that awful blue suit, but at least he's wearing a red henley today and looks much more relaxed than he did when he'd first arrived. Jackie decides that she completely approves. This arrangement was never in any way one she could have ever dreamed of, but it suits her daughter to a 'T'. The adventure, traveling, and even her change only made her... _more_  Rose. She was exactly where she needed to be, and what mother could want more than that for her child?

"I know, Rose," Jackie says with a sad but clear smile, her eyes shining as she gets to her feet. "Before ya do the memory thing, I want you both to know that I love you very much. Doctor, we may have had our differences in the past, and I still don't entirely forgive ya for that one year," she tells him, shaking her finger at him, her cheeks flushing. "But you're the best thing that's happened for my Rose, and I'm glad that I can tell ya that m'self."

Rose embraces her mum as she starts to cry, but Jackie isn't quite done. "Rose, you're my baby girl, and I know I was hard on you growin' up. I was overprotective and meddlin' and everythin' else ya called me when you were a rude teenager." They both laugh and sob together, remembering those fights. "But I always knew you'd grow up to be amazin', and I'm so glad I could see it." Embracing her tightly, Jackie tries to memorise everything she's feeling right now. She takes a step back, holding Rose at arms length. Jackie looks to the Doctor, whose eyes are suspiciously wet, and releases her daughter to embrace him as well.

"Come 'ere, you plum! You get one, too." Holding him close, the Doctor realises that she's whispering, "Thank you, thank you," over and over again. Deciding that's his cue, he hugs her tight, and whispers, "You're welcome." Then swiftly, he slides his fingers to her temple and catches her as she collapses into his arms.

"Gah, Rose, your mum's not as light as you are," he huffs as he carries her to the sofa easily, laying her out, pouring her a "forgotten" glass of wine, and kneeling beside the sofa.

"Oi! Do not make fun of my mum while she's comatose!" Rose swats him on the arm in her mum's defence as she lightly drapes a throw over her legs.

The Doctor grins at her, unrepentant, and places both hands to either side of Jackie's face. Diving into her mind, carefully avoiding anything other than his goal, he finds it surprisingly well organised for a human. Taking the last month's memories, he hides them away deeply and sets the trigger he and Rose discussed. In their place he leaves a series of half memories drawn from similar earlier ones that should fill the gap. Jackie's own mind will supply the rest.

"Done," he tells Rose as he sits back up.

Rose, gazes at her mum, as the Doctor gets to his feet, giving her room. Taking his place she kisses her mum lightly on the brow, and takes one last look at her. There's been plenty of hints that they'll see each other again, but this moment right here is only theirs.

Rose steps away from her mum and takes the Doctor's hand. They move into the TARDIS and in moments are gone from the room. Several hours later, Jackie Tyler wakes with a horrid headache and blames the wine. She also blames the wine for the silvery ghost that appears in her kitchen later that afternoon.

Eight weeks later, Jackie doesn't notice the heaviness in her jean jacket pocket as she's sitting in the TARDIS, mistakenly taken along when Rose and the Doctor go to some Torchwood place while investigating the ghosts.

Three days after that, Jackie ignores the pockets again when she hangs that same jean jacket at the back of her new huge closet. She can't bear to part with it, but she doesn't want the reminder either. Closing the door, she can easily hear Rose's sobbing from down the hall.

And finally, after three years of building a life in a new world, Jackie, Pete, and Mickey watch as Rose turns to look at them, a hole in the fabric of reality coruscating in front of her. The look raises alarms in Jackie's head and she starts running, leaving the two men to catch up to her. She hears Rose's scream as she reaches into the hole, and then the rip is gone, taking Rose with it. Coming to a stop just shy of Rose's footprints in the sand, Jackie turns to be caught in Pete's arms, sobbing in fear and—

Wait...what? Abruptly, an extra month's worth of memories slide into place in Jackie's mind and her sobbing turns to laughter—frightening and confusing Mickey and Pete.

Her explanations, once believed, have all three of them dancing like loons on the sand, obscuring the last marks of Rose in Pete's World.

Three more days filled with Jackie's reminiscing finds them all finally back at the mansion. They hope to never see Norway again. Mickey and Pete are downstairs enjoying a whiskey before everyone turns in for the night. Jackie is too restless to stay with them and, claiming a need check on Tony, she finds herself in Rose's room instead. Everything is just as they'd left it only days earlier. Seeing it now, Jackie smiles, knowing Rose is well, better than well even.

Still feeling restless, she moves to her own room. On a whim she opens the closet. Walking in, she's drawn to the very back, behind her fancy dresses. Pulling them out of the way, she spies her old jean jacket still hanging there, abandoned on the most incredible day of her life. Smiling, Jackie reaches to take it down. It gets caught on the hanger, and while yanking on it a small parcel flies out of the inner pocket, landing at her feet.

Jackie picks it up, seeing Rose's handwriting and begins to tremble, her heart beating faster against her ribs. It's addressed to her, Pete, and Mickey.

Jackie makes her shaky way back downstairs to the boys. Pete takes one look at her and leaps to his feet, at her side almost instantly.

"Jacks, what is it?"

"It's from Rose, Pete. I've had it all this time, and I didn't even know it. It's addressed to all three of us."

Handing it to Mickey, she motions for him to open it. Pulling off the TARDIS blue wrapping, he finds a card that he hands to Pete and a stack of photos. Mickey moves to the large table at the back of the room, followed by Jackie, and begins laying the pictures out as Pete reads the note aloud.

_To my family on Pete's World,_

_I can see you smiling as you read that, Dad. Mum can tell you all that's happened, and I'm sure she's already started. It's a long trip back from Norway. I wanted you to know that I love you all very much. I am, as I write this note for the TARDIS to hide with the photos, the happiest I have ever been. The Doctor and I are on our way to pick up a couple of friends for a trip to Imperial Rome._

_I hope one day to see you all again. Never say, never ever or impossible_ — _the Doctor and the universe have taught me that._

_Know that I'll think of you every day, and please tell Tony, his sister loves him._

_All My Love, Forever,_

_Rose_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There, a fluffy ending to a horrible chapter in the Doctor and Rose's lives together. I hope you liked it. :-) Ash and I are already working on the next chapters, so hopefully they will be up soon.
> 
> Many, many thanks to Veritascara for being willing to beta this portion for me. It was a journey for both of us, and I couldn't have done it without her.
> 
> Many thanks, as always, to my dear Ashlanielle, who still gave me great story advice, even though the subject pained her. -hugs-
> 
> If you are so inspired, please review. I love knowing your thoughts! :-D Cheers!


	38. Where to Next?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We step off into the next adventure! Are we going to Rome?

**38 Where to Next?**

 

Jack catches sight of Rose as she enters the console room from deeper within the ship. No longer wearing loose dresses, she's sporting dark jeans, a dark red hoodie, and a fitted brown shirt that says, "You Can't Take the Sky From Me." As she comes down the stairs, he thinks she may have been crying, but he's not positive. Taking his life in his own hands, Jacks chooses humour to cheer up his friend. "Hey, Rosie! Are you ready to check out the superhot Italians?"

His purpose meets with success as Rose laughs at him happily, a bit more spring to her step as she comes down the final few stairs to the first of the consoles where the Doctor and Jack are working. Jack grins up at Rose a moment before returning to his task across form the Doctor. He looks sharp in his usual dress shirt and trousers with braces; his coat tossed casually over the back of the nearest jump seat. The Doctor also glances up at Rose with a soft smile as he continues to furiously type away at the monitor, periodically adjusting a few nearby dials minutely. Today's touch of blue is his twilight coloured shirt, the tie is chocolate with little aqua squares, and he's back in his brown pinstriped trousers.

No one had said anything about the return of the brown suit, but Jack and Donna secretly breathed a sigh of relief and commented in the privacy of their room that it must mean a return to health and normalcy for the Time Lords. Jack remarked that he thought the Doctor's bum looked better in the brown compared to the blue. Donna rolled her eyes at him, but agreed that didn't much care for the blue either.

"Oi! The only Italians you're checkin' out had better be sandwiches, you pillock!" they all hear as Donna enters the room from the other hallway that leads to the kitchen. She's dressed for today's outing in a pair of dark trousers and a fun printed top in shades of blue, burgundy, and black. Her hair is in a high pony-tail, and she looks notably sassy as she turns a smile in the Doctor and Rose's direction. "Lunch is up," she tells them, before eyeing Jack through narrowed lids as she wipes her hands on a towel. She turns to head back the way she'd come with an extra swish, expecting people to follow in their time.

Rose slides up behind the Doctor chuckling at Donna and Jack. Hugging him from behind, she wraps her arms around his back, clasping her wrist over his belly. She can sense his smile through the bond, though she can't see it.

"I'm done with these reactions here, Doc. See you two in the kitchen." Jack bounces down the couple of steps that lead to that hallway, following after Donna.

Rose and the Doctor hear a muffled - _thwack_ \- followed by an exclamation of "Hey!" from Jack as Donna apparently hid to thump him for his cheeky comment. Jack laughs, replying, "Is that right?" Then they hear Donna squeal and begin laughing, loud and hard, the sound getting quieter as the two of them get further away to the sound of Jack's footsteps.

"Annnnnd maybe we'll give them a minute," the Doctor says to Rose as he turns in her arms to face her. He sees the puffiness around her eyes and brings his palm to her check rubbing along it with his thumb. "Hey now, have you been crying, Rose Tyler?"

She ducks her head, placing her ear against his chest relishing the steady rhythm of his hearts—she always feels safe like this. "Maybe…a little, just happy tears."

"Ahh, finished your secret present for your family then?" He'd known she was working on it for the past several days. It's hard to ignore your wife's emotional sorting of family photos when you share a portion of those emotions.

"Not very secret then, was it?" she teases him. It hadn't really been a  _secret;_  it was just something she had to do for herself and for her family that was left behind. "Yeah, Darling took it this morning. You remember that jacket my mum had on when we accidentally took her to Canary Wharf with us?" At the Doctor's nod, she continues, "Well, I asked Darling to hide my little present in the pocket. Mum'll never notice; it was pretty hectic. So, that means they've had those pictures for almost two years; it's hard to believe sometimes—time travel and everything."

"Well, I've loads of practise and still confuse myself at times," he tells her, burying his nose in her hair. There's something about the shampoo she uses; he swears it's like ambrosia.

"Oh, that makes me feel better when the designated driver admits to getting lost," she teases him, chuckling at the outburst she knows is coming.

"Oi! I didn't say anything about lost, just that sometimes I'm not exactly aware of things in a particularly linear fashion." He pulls his head out of her hair like a started horse, the look on his face the picture of indignant.

"Blah, blah, blah…sounds like lost to me." Rose gooses him in the ribs, eliciting her favourite squeak and then takes off through the consoles at a run. The Doctor is hot on her heels, and finally traps her against the wall under the stairs that lead beneath the control centre. Panting and flushed with their exertions, Rose and the Doctor grin at one another—perfectly aware that Rose was pushing his buttons on purpose.

"So, what's on the lunch menu, Miss Tyler?" the Doctor growls into her ear, nipping it lightly.

"That's Mrs. Tyler to you, you miscreant," she replies with a haughty sneer.

"Miscreant? Well, if you'd prefer…" leaning in to capture her lips, Rose squirms down and away, dancing out of his reach and back up the stairs, laughing.

"I thought you'd had quite enough a la carte this morning," Rose tosses over her shoulder as she races toward the kitchen.

"It's no longer morning, Rose Tyler," is the cheeky reply as he works to close the gap between them.

Laughing all the way, they slide into the kitchen in a fit of giggles, the Doctor's long fingers coming away with only Rose's red hoodie when she turns out of his grasp expertly—a twinkle in her eye.

Some days she can still burst into tears for no reason, but for the most part, she is beginning to feel alive again. This romp through the TARDIS is delightful, but by no means the norm. They'd only restarted their sex life a few days prior, and if not for the Doctor's infinite care and patience, it would have ended in disaster. Instead, though interspersed with periodic tears, they had both fallen asleep wrapped in each other's arms—sated and at ease with the universe.

Rose turns from the Doctor with laughing eyes and a grin to find Jack and Donna mid-sandwich, watching them. Jack smirks and Rose thumps him in the shoulder on her way to the counter to fix one for the Doctor and herself.

"So, Rome…what's it going to be like?" Donna asks between bites. "Are there going to be aliens? Are we going to have to eat honeyed ants and dormice, Doctor? 'Cause that's not gonna happen." She still has the blue pig slug fresh in her thoughts. People should eat people food.

"Well, I suppose you could if you wanted, but they were considered delicacies and expensive. Most people still ate the usual—pork, chickens, rats…you know," he explains, sliding into a chair next to Jack.

"You know, the usual…rats," Rose mocks the Doctor, rolling her eyes with another easy grin as she sets his plate in front of him.

"We'll land right after lunch, so eat up unless you feel peckish for dormice," the Doctor replies with a smirk, pressing his shoulder to Rose's as he picks up his lunch.

* * *

Donna and the Doctor exit the TARDIS first, chatting amiably about how the translation circuits work for everyone blessed with the gift of the TARDIS. Jack and Rose follow, amused by the conversation.

They've landed in a busy market street, and there are shopkeepers of many different varieties hawking their wares. There's a man with melons, a woman selling fabrics, an apothecary, and a laundress—all within a stone's throw of the TARDIS.

"So if I was to say, 'vini, vidi, vici,' to that vendor, he wouldn't hear Latin?" she asks pointing one out suggestively.

"Try it out, Donna Noble." The Doctor waves her on, knowing what's likely to happen but happy to let Donna figure it out on her own. At the vendor's, "Oh, you're Celtic. I don't speak Celtic, deary," the Doctor laughs long and hard. Their voices fade as they move further down the lane. Rose and Jack are still just outside the TARDIS.

Rose's first impression is of impending doom upon exiting the doors. Looking around, she notices the Doctor squinting up at the sky also wearing a thoughtful expression until Donna grabs his arm, hauling him around a corner and distracting him.

"What's up, Rosie?" Jack asks, not liking the look on Rose's face.

"I dunno, Jack. Did he check the scanner? I'm thinking it's the Ides of March or we're not in Rome; something's not right." It feels like a fixed point, but something's different about the wrong feeling. The itching buzz is heavy somehow, and Rose doesn't like it.

"Looks Roman," Jack points out, watching a group of handsome soldiers march by, winking at them. Noticing the regard, one of the Legionnaires winks back, making Jack grin like a loon.

"Jack, seriously," Rose remarks with a shake of her head.

"What? When in Rome, right?" Jack adores Donna, but that doesn't mean he can't flirt. Flirting's just being nice; it's like a hello with a present.

"Do me a favour Jack. Before any more of those thoughts occupy your mind or your mouth, ask yourself…would Donna skin me alive for this? If the answer's, no, then by all means, proceed."

"Geez, Rosie, life of the party you are," he replies with a cheeky grin. He knows better than to wander, and truthfully he's completely uninterested—but he's not dead.

"It's your hide, Harkness," she teases him, but her expression is still strained. "Something doesn't feel right…" Rose trails off. She shakes her head to clear it of the gloomy thoughts and grabs Jacks hand to follow after Donna and the Doctor. "Come on, they can't have gotten too far."

Leaving the vicinity of the TARDIS, neither Rose nor Jack notice that they were being spied on by a young woman dressed from head to toe in red. As the turn a corner, she steps out to gaze at the TARDIS with round and shining eyes that are outlined in kohl. Before anyone can observe her, she covers face and leaves the area.

* * *

They don't get a block away before Rose and Jack need to hang on to each other in the middle of the street as a trembler shakes the ground for a few seconds. This obviously happens fairly often, based on the actions of the unconcerned shop keeps. They only go a couple more streets before they can hear a heated argument between Donna and the Doctor just ahead.

"We have to warn 'em!"

"Donna, we can't. The destruction of Pompeii is a fixed time in history. What happens, happens—we can't stop it."

Rose now knows exactly where and when they ended up, and it's definitely a fixed point that they've felt. As she and Jack clear another fruit stand, they can see Donna and the Doctor standing toe to toe.

"But that's what we're supposed to do, save people," she tries entreating him.

"Donna, that volcano blows tomorrow. It has to happen, it already  _has_  happened, and it will happen tomorrow— _without us_ ," the Doctor replies, his tone and expression final. Turning away, he moves back the way they had come, not seeing Rose or Jack yet.

"Says who?" Donna asks belligerently, her arms at her side, with clenched fists, and standing firm in the lane.

"Says me, the Time Lord." Turning back around, he faces Donna, now truly angry. "Really? You're going to argue with me over this? After everything we've been through, you're going to argue with me about saving strangers in Pompeii?"

"But Doctor, all these people. I have to warn them if you won't. I don't  _need_  your permission" Crossing her arms over her bosom, she stands tall and resolute, unimpressed by his anger.

"Nope, you don't. But if you start howling in the middle of the street about the world ending, they'll think you're some crazy, bitey lady and they'll lock you away. We're leaving." And with that he turns again, marching away from Donna. He sees Rose and Jack, and moves in their direction. Rose can feel his sadness, resolve, and fury very clearly through the bond.

"I have more to say about—" Donna calls after him, jogging to keep up.

"Oh, I'm sure you do! Back to the TARDIS, now."

"Doctor!" Rose exclaims as they meet up, and immediately starts following the Doctor's long-legged strides back towards the TARDIS

"Rose, we have to go.  _Jack_." With a significant sideways look, the Doctor implores Jack to reason with Donna.

_-Vesuvius, eh? I didn't think it felt right-_

_-Tomorrow's volcano day, Rose, and I can't do anything about it. If I could just go back and fix things…so many things, I would. I'd try to make everything better, except that isn't always how it works. I could save my people, our son…-_

Taking his hand, Rose soothes his anger and his hurt. It's all directed at himself and his responsibilities, not Donna, but it still serves no purpose. She surrounds him in her understanding, grounding him. They're a few paces ahead of Donna and Jack when Rose hears Jack start an attempt at an explanation.

"Donna, we can't change history. Sometimes these events have to happen for things to get better, new discoveries to appear, new—"

"Shut it, Jack. I  _know_  what the Doctor's sayin', and I don't like it. If some of these people survived even though the mountain blows, how's that a bad thing?"

"Because  _we_  can't know, Donna! We can't just go around making those decisions when these events have to happen. Rose and I landed on Mars at a fixed point. Once I realised where we were, I knew exactly what was going to happen, and the names of every person killed there. There was nothing we could do about it. Rose wanted to help them—hell,  _I_  wanted to help them. But realise, Donna, there was  _nothing_  we could do. It had to happen We left and barely made it back to the TARDIS in time. That event was the catalyst that sent mankind into deep space—lit the fires of exploration. I wouldn't be here from a century far, far in the future if not for that event. Everything matters, Donna; even the small things."

As they round the final corner approaching the TARDIS, all four stumble to a stop.

"You've got to be kidding me," Donna says in exasperation, throwing her hands in the air. The small corner that had housed the TARDIS is empty—no TARDIS means no leaving.

Rose feels the Doctor tense up, and they both mentally reach for the ship. She's about half a mile away and toward the East, but seems fine. Grumbling to himself about this being another one of those days, the Doctor sighs dramatically and looks around for someone who might have seen what happened.

There's a likely candidate in the form of a lumpy looking peasant wearing a soiled tunic. He's looking extremely pleased with himself and standing not two meters from where the TARDIS had been parked.

"Excuse me?" the Doctor asks politely, walking up to the man who's compulsively counting the coins in his hand. "Did you happen to see a big, blue box? A big, blue wooden box that may have been standing here?"

The Doctor really wants to leave quickly, but that will be just a bit difficult without transport. It just figures that their first real adventure after Midnight has hardly begun and already there's a problem—typical and so very them. Despite how annoyed he is that the TARDIS is missing, the Doctor's mood actually lightens as a trickle of the old excitement wafts through his mind. He looks over at Rose and sees it mirrored there. He flashes her a quick grin as the man begins his reply.

"Not at first, I didn't. Was just goin' 'bout m' business sellin' these lovely cabbages. But when he wanted to buy it, pop! There it was; like it'd been there all along. I—"

"Yes, yes, but where's it gone? Buy it? Did you say…buy it?" Who would want to buy a blue box? And who would have seen it? Did they recognise it? The Doctor's level of concern takes on a darker note as the questions keep piling up in his mind.

"Well, I sold it, didn't I?" the stallholder replies, annoyed at being interrupted in the middle of his story.  _Everyone's always said he's a fine storyteller, he is,_  the man tells himself inwardly, scowling at them.

"What!?" Donna screeches at the man, who cringes away from her outburst, looking to the other two men for help. "But it wasn't yours to sell!" She might be mad at the Doctor, but this fellow's cheek knocks the lid off her control.

"It was on m' patch, wasn't it? I sold it fair and square," the fellow reasons. That's just how things work around here. Where are these tourists from? Becoming a bit suspicious, he narrows his gaze at them and begins thinking about calling for the guard.

Seeing the man's unease, the Doctor steps up to soothe him, not wanting to attract too much attention, and hoping to not encourage Donna's further wrath.

"You're right, of course, that's perfectly reasonable. I hope you got a good price for it. Now, who did you say you sold it to?"

"Why, old Caecilius, of course. Got fifteen sesterces for it, I did—lovely jubbly," he says, smiling at his stroke of good luck. "Look, if you want to argue, why don't you talk it out with him? He's on Foss Street, big villa. Ya, can't miss it." Turning his back on them, he ends the conversation and begins rearranging his cabbages.

The Doctor turns back to his companions thoughtfully, looking off in the direction of the TARDIS. He knows he can get to Her, but how She got there is still worrying him.

Jack asks the question on all their minds as they begin making their way down the street. "What'd he buy a big, blue wooden box for?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, now you know where we're going. :-) I'll be borrowing periodically from the dialog of Fires of Pompeii, but the meat of my story is actually different. I'm four chapters into it, and will hopefully be publishing the next on Tuesday. My goal is to finish this out, publishing twice a week. Ashlanielle is busily betaing, while working on her next chapter, as well.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this first step on our next adventure. See you Tuesday with Caveat Emptor. Cheers!


	39. Caveat Emptor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The TARDIS crew find their missing ship and another mystery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Tuesday! Here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. :-) I'll be posting the next on Thursday! Thanks!

**39 Caveat Emptor**

 

Rose and Donna take advantage of the walk through the streets to do a little shopping. Donna keeps dropping little hints about all these poor people, but the TARDIS must not be translating those parts of their conversations, because no one is looking at them like they're out of their minds.

Jack and the Doctor lag behind the two, also talking. They watch the girls shop with affection, but the Doctor's eyes are still haunted.

"Thanks for the assist earlier, Jack. I didn't mean to yell at her," he says, looking pained at the memory.

"I never intend to yell at Donna either, Doc, but sometimes she can drive you to distraction. And anyway, as hard as it is, no matter how difficult these moments are, fixed-points have to stay that way."

"Yeah." The Doctor sighs and stuffs his hands in the pockets of his overcoat. It's their first adventure in a while and he'd needed the extra layer between himself and everything else. "I wonder sometimes about your accidental trip to Mars. I don't know that I would have been so strong if I'd ended up there right after losing Rose." The memory of that terribly lonely and painful time tries to rise up from the depths of his mind; but Rose turns, smiling at him, and the cloud that's trying to form is burned away in the light of her love for him.

"Nah, Doc, I think you would have made the same decision. It was the only one to make; it's too important a moment in human history to muck around with."

"I know, Jack; I know all of that. Adelaide Brooke is one of my heroes. She was so brilliant and determined. She knew exactly what she wanted and she made it happen," the Doctor says with a smile. He'd gone to one of her lectures when she was defending one of her many funding grants; she'd been amazing. He'd almost considered offering her a trip—her future, though, had stopped him then, but he'd been so much younger, clearer—more decisive.

Up ahead the girls giggle at some of the particularly graphic graffiti on the lane's walls of genitalia, the words  _Atia amat omnes_ , and rude gestures apparently directed at Titus Caesar. Rounding a corner, they pass a courtyard with an Orator posturing and speaking grandly about new laws and interesting rulings in cases that greatly concern the onlookers by all the commentary and remarks made by members of the crowd.

The girls move on, but Jack and the Doctor watch the toga-clad younger man pass along his news in the highly formalised gestures of a trained orator for a few minutes before continuing after Donna and Rose.

"I might have found a way to save Adelaide and her crew," he continues musing much to Jack's surprise. "Maybe, I could have—"

"But Doc, everything she did, all the heroics ascribed to her, the developments after—they'd all be negated if you changed things." Jack's a little appalled that the Doctor is even considering changing such an important causal nexus. Could he possibly be thinking of stopping a volcano?

"Ha! An ex-Time Agent persuading a Time Lord to leave well enough alone," the Doctor jokes with Jack, but the smile on his lips never reaches his eyes. "I'm so tired of all the ending, Jack. Sometimes it just gets really hard even when you know it's necessary. Saving the universe over and over again is a big, generally thankless job, you know."

Clapping him on the shoulder, Jack cracks his biggest grin for the Doctor, hoping to brighten his mood a bit. "Damn good thing you're not alone on the job then, eh Doc?"

"Yes, Jack, it's a  _very_  good thing," he mutters to himself, almost too low for Jack to hear. Then in a flash, his mood changes as he sees the next street sign is Voss, and he lengthens his stride to catch up with the girls. They all round the corner together, and the shopkeep was right—the enormous villa at the end of the street must be Caecilius'.

* * *

As the TARDIS crew reaches the villa, they see the door is standing open invitingly and they can hear voices inside. They enter the courtyard to see a handsome older gentleman teasingly berating a teenage boy dressed in a maroon tunic that must be his son. Behind him they can see the TARDIS standing in a corner. She hums what sounds very like an eye-roll in Rose's mind.

"So where were you last night? Down at the thelopolium, I bet, cavorting with Etruscans and Christians and all sorts. How's your head, sunshine? How's your head?!" the older man yells, grinning at the groan he illicits from the hungover young man.

"Alright, dad! Leave off would you?" the young man replies with a sour expression, clutching his aching and muzzy head.

Just as the Doctor and crew are about to make themselves known, another decent sized earthquake shakes the villa, dust falling from the stones.

"Positions!" the father yells and all four members of the family leap to places at the walls or pillars to save their precious items from falling and shattering. They are very keen to protect their valuables, and the Doctor helps out by leaping to the rescue of a marble bust that had just wobbled its way off its pillar.

"Ha! I got ya!" As the ground stills and the dust settles, the Doctor hands the bust to the father.

"Thank you, kind sir, for the assistance, but I am afraid we are closed for the day. I'm expecting a very important visitor." The gentleman grins over his shoulder at his wife and children, who nod in approval.

"Well, that's perfect then, because we are visitors! Hello!" the Doctor says with a wide grin of his own, waving at the assembled family.

"Oh, and who are you?" the older gentleman asks, confusion plain on his face.

"I am…ahh, Spartacus!" the Doctor supplies after a second.

"And so am I," Rose says quickly, stepping up beside the Doctor. The TARDIS is right there, so they'll be leaving before the ridiculous charade is discovered. Gesturing behind her to Jack and Donna she introduces them as well, " And these are our assistants, Donna and Jack."

Jack and Donna are looking around. Donna spots the young girl and smiles at her, waving a little. The young man is playing at being extremely bored and put upon, lounging against the wall near a plaque carved with the standing figures of several people, drinking from a goblet.

"Ahh, Mr. and Mrs. Spartacus?"

Rose and the Doctor glance at each other and turn grinning back to the father. "Yup, that's us, the Spartacuses, Sparti, Spartoi—" The Doctor amuses himself momentarily with the possibilities when interrupted by the more insistent trader.

"I do apologise, but we are not open for trade today," he says with a decisive air, determined to make them leave.

"And what trade would that be?" Rose asks, looking around the house for his wares.

"Marble. Lobus Caecilius. Mining, polishing and design thereof. If you want marble, I'm your man," he says proudly, fingering the bright edge of the burgundy cloak he wears over his fine tunic.

The Doctor reaches into the pocket of his overcoat and produces his psychic paper. "Good! That's good you see, because I am the Marble Inspector, and these are our assistants, Jack and Donna."

The wife gives a small shriek. Lunging to her son's side, she grabs the goblet from him. "By the gods of Commerce and Inspection, I apologise for our son," she says, pouring his wine into the pool at the centre of the courtyard, ignoring his annoyed exclamation. Setting the goblet down she brushes dust from her cobalt blue stola, and straightens the small diadem in her hair as she gestures her son and daughter to clean up—and quick.

The family is suddenly all aflutter, straightening small things on their way to line up for the Doctor.

Caecilius is quick to make the introductions though his expression is still somewhat confused. "This is my good wife, Metella, and our children Quintus and Evelina. I must confess, sir, we're not prepared for an—"

"I'm sure you have nothing to hide," Rose says with a friendly smile.

"Oh, nothing to worry about," the Doctor agrees, rocking back on his heels. "Although, frankly, I think that looks an awful lot like wood." Pointing toward the TARDIS, he raises an inquiring eyebrow in Caecilius' direction.

Caecilius' wife elbows him, and says quietly, "Lobus! I told you to get rid of that thing!"

"I just bought it today—modern art! Isn't she lovely?" The look on his face is complete adoration. Rose and the Doctor look at each other, thinking the old guy is daft, but to each their own.

"Ah, well, my apologies, caveat emptor," the Doctor says specifically to amuse himself.

"Oh, you're Celtic, that's lovely, but—"

Receiving the expected reply, the Doctor grins at Caecilius and interrupts him. "I'm sure it's all well and good, but we will probably need to take it off your hands for a proper inspection."

Rose rolls her eyes behind the Doctor's back and walks away toward the interior of the house. The TARDIS is fine for the moment, and she's really interested in the wall carving. For some reason she feels drawn to it, and maybe Quintus can tell her about it. Rose remembers being hungover. Maybe a little sympathy will make him feel like sharing.

"Well, if it needs inspecting, perhaps this lovely family should take a holiday. You feel like a holiday, don't you?" Donna asserts as she steps up beside the Doctor, much to his annoyance.

While the others are continuing to talk, Rose moves over by Quintus who is still leaning against the wall watching the interactions closely but trying to appear unconcerned.

"What's this?" Rose asks, pointing at the carved plaque.

"Those are the household gods. Where are you from again? Everyone's got household gods, well except for the Christians; they only have one." He rolls his eyes, but seems to enjoying the attention, so Rose asks another question.

"Of course, but mine aren't so lovely. Did your dad make it?" The work really is fine, and the figures resemble the family in a way that indicates a great deal of attention to detail and caring.

"No, our old servant Tomus did just before he died. He was killed at the mine when the mountain moved and the rock he was working collapsed. That was five years ago,

now." Leaning in conspiratorially, he tells Rose, "My dad likes to make out like he's been here forever, but really we were only arrived a month before Tomus died. We came to take over the business from an ailing family friend none of us had ever heard of; but we're rich now, and that's what dad always wanted."

Like any typical teenager, Quintus sounds like he's bored and annoyed, but really he has no idea what he'd do differently. His father's money provides everything that currently bores him—the wine, the visitors, the parties. And tomorrow that will all change. He'll never have the chance to…

Suddenly Rose decides that Donna's right. Maybe they can't save everyone, but maybe, just maybe, they can save this one family. Perhaps Caecilius' interest in the TARDIS is some sort of sign that they should intervene, just this little bit.

Rose sees the Doctor pull Donna to the side for some privacy, while Jack is flirting with the giggling Metella and Evelina. Caecilius is looking back and forth between the Doctor and Donna and Jack, his brow furrowed as if he's desperately trying to remember something, when Evelina gasps, growing paler than her light gold palla and looking faint. Another earthquake shakes the villa, and Jack catches her as Metella leaps for a vase and Donna reaches for the same unfortunate marble bust.

"Places!" Caecilius shouts belatedly as everyone scrambles for art to save.

Hearing a crack above her head, Rose throws herself to the side just as a large stone comes loose from the wall above and slams into the place where Rose and Quintus had been standing moments before, cracking the beautiful carved plaque and showing a patch darkness behind it.

 _-ROSE!-_ the Doctor shouts his concern for her through the bond.

 _-I'm fine; it missed me-_  Waving so he can see her as the dust settles, Rose coughs and brushes stone bits from her hair and shoulders. She pauses, thinking she hears singing, before another coughing fit and Quintus distract her from looking for the source.

Jack looks over in Rose's direction, where he sees Quintus move in to help her. His arms now full of Evelina, Jack carries follows Metella to her room where she thanks him before shooing him back toward the others.

Quintus comes to Rose's aid and offers her a hand up which turns into catching her quickly as she almost falls again. Her ankle didn't fare as well as the rest of her. Rose's small cry of pain alerts the Doctor, and seeing Donna's safe, he moves to her other side. Quintus and the Doctor gingerly carry Rose to a low couch near the wall.

"Rose, I'm so sorry, here let me look." Gently manipulating her ankle, the Doctor can feel that it's not broken, but by her sharp intact of breath, he knows it's sprained badly.

"Quintus! There's a good lad, would you get Rose a cup of wine? The dust is fearful." Wide-eyed and nodding quickly, Quintus rushes to comply worried that an injury to the Inspector's wife in their house is a very bad sign.

Once Quintus is out of earshot, the Doctor pulls out the sonic and runs it over Rose's ankle. "We'll need to get to the Infirmary for me to fix this properly, but this should help a bit. We won't be here much longer. Just need to get them out of the house, and we can—"

Cutting him off, Rose wants to use this opportunity to talk to him about her thoughts on saving this one family. "Doctor…about that. I was thinking—"

"Announcing, Lucius Petrus Dextrus, Chief Augur of the City Government," an older servant bawls from the doorway, interrupting all conversation before ducking away further into the villa.

The gentleman introduced is of middling height with short, greying brown hair. He wears a cream pallium bordered in gold over his tunic, leaving only his left arm exposed. Showing much disdain, Lucius enters the villa like he owns it and all the houses around it.


	40. Through the Clarity of Prophecy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The TARDIS crew is subjected to one of the many oddities of a Pompeii that isn't quite right.

**40 Through the Clarity of Prophecy**

 

"Lucius. My pleasure, as always," Caecilius says, extending his hand to the imminent personage in greeting. Rudely, Lucius does not return the friendly gesture, keeping his hands to his side.

"Quintus, stand up and come here," Metella calls as she reenters the courtyard. Evelina is safely tucked away in her room, resting and partaking of the holy vapours. The Chief Augur is much more important than the Inspector's wife, injured or no…may the gods forgive her lack of charity.

"A rare and great honour, sir, for you to come to my house," Caecilius offers as his wife and son gather behind him. He's been working for weeks on the Augur's project in hopes of more contracts from his patronage.  _Could there be a worse time for an inspection?_  he wonders.

"The birds are flying north, and the wind is in the West." The first words spoken by the Augur are obscure at best, but surely meaningful.

"Quite. Absolutely. That's good, is it?" Caecilius questions anxiously, hoping he doesn't sound stupid.

The Augur's next words only serve to confuse Caecilius further, though he tries his best not to let it show, his expressive brows furrowed in confusion. "Only the grain of wheat knows where it will grow."

"There now, Metella. Have you ever heard such wisdom?" The pleading expression Caecilius turns to his wife is not lost on her or their impromptu guests.

"Never. It's an honour," Metella says dutifully, bowing slightly to the Augur, and Rose is thoroughly impressed with how sincere she sounds. Is this guy serious?

"Pardon me, sir. I have guests. This is Mr. and Mrs. Spartacus," Caecilius says graciously, gesturing to the Doctor and Rose, introducing them to the City Augur.

"A name is but a cloud upon a summer wind."  _Maybe the Augur is purposefully being obscure,_  Rose thinks suspiciously. The Doctor, on the other hand, seems to light up, a mischievous glint brightening his eyes.

"But the wind is felt most keenly in the dark," the Doctor replies with similar obscurity.

"Ah. But what is the dark, other than an omen of the sun?" Obviously dismissing Caecilius, Lucius turns toward the Doctor, recognising a more worthy opponent.

"I concede that every sun must set." The Doctor's reply seems to please the Augur, who grasps the edge of his expensive pallium smugly.

"Ha," Lucius says with delight, assuming his verbal victory.

"And yet the son of the father must also rise." The Doctor's further response confounds the Augur a moment, and he rocks back and forth on his heels. The Doctor, on the other hand, smirks at the Augur, enjoying himself.

"Damn. Very clever, sir. Evidently, a man of learning," Lucius concedes, seeing in the Doctor, a mind that he feels is severely lacking in Caecilius. "You say you're visiting?"

"Oh, yes. But don't mind us. Don't want to disturb the status quo," the Doctor replies patronisingly with a grin.

"He's Celtic," Caecilius leans forward and asserts in what he hopes is a helpful manner. He hadn't followed any of their banter and is feeling decidedly stupid.

Ignoring Caecilius' remark, the Doctor answers Lucius instead. "We'll be off in a minute."

"I'm not going anywhere," Donna replies acidly, folding her arms over her chest and daring the Doctor to do something about it with the fiery gaze she levels at him.

Having no idea how to take Donna's remark, Caecilius instead addresses the reason for the Augur's visit. "It's ready, sir."

The Doctor turns his back on Lucius and Caecilius' exchange, gesturing for Jack to get Donna, as he moves to Rose. It is time to leave. He'd been hoping not to alarm these people with the TARDIS dematerialising, but there's nothing for it. Donna has to understand, and these people will be gone tomorrow. Yes, it's sad, but there's nothing he can do about it.

"The moment of revelation, and here it is," Caecilius says grandly as he throws off a cloth to reveal…a stone circuit?

The Doctor looks over just as Caecilius reveals a specialised piece of marble that Lucius must have ordered, and lurches to a stop on his way to Rose.

"Exactly as you specified. It pleases you, sir?" Caecilius asks Lucius, the hope shining on his face.

Smiling, Lucius stands before the stone, drinking in its perfection. It is exactly as the god's had specified. They should be well pleased. "As the rain pleases the soil," he replies.

"Oh, now that's different. Who designed that, then?" the Doctor asks as he changes directions and joins Lucius in examining Caecilius' work. Rose rolls her eyes at her husband's back. Finding Jack, they share a moment of exasperation—never a dull moment.

"My Lord Lucius was very specific," Caecilius says, feeling defensive. It took many days and his most skilled labourers to manage the delicate work.

Turning to Lucius, the Doctor asks, "Where'd you get the pattern?"

"On the rain and mist and wind," Lucius responds. He abruptly feels that sharing the god's business with this stranger is a very bad idea.

"Doc, that looks like a circuit," Jack says, helping Rose closer to the group. Rose hugs Jack around the neck as he sets her gently down on the low stone bench with a smile. Donna is still fuming, but is currently distracted alongside the Doctor.

"Yes, made of stone," the Doctor answers Jack, tugging at his ear in thought.

"Do you mean you just dreamt that thing up?" Donna asks, pointing at the strangely detailed piece of marble, with its clearly incised lines and inlayed stripes of metal.

"That is my job as City Augur," Lucius answers haughtily. Who is this woman to question the needs of the gods as delivered through himself?

"What's that, then—like the mayor?" Donna sasses belligerently. She knows perfectly well when she's being dismissed, and she doesn't like it. He's obviously never met her mother.

Caecilius and his family are looking on the exchange with growing horror at the strangers' lack of respect for this important city official. Caecilius thinks he should have kicked them out immediately, marble inspector or no. He'll have to beat the slaves later for leaving the door open so just anyone could walk in.

"Oh, ha. You must excuse my friend, she's from Barcelona," the Doctor replies as he grabs Donna's elbow and pulls her back from the Augur a bit. Under his breath he says to her, "No, but this is an age of superstition—of official superstition. The Augur is paid by the city to tell the future. The wind will blow from the west? That's the equivalent of ten o'clock news."

"They're laughing at us. Those two, they use words like tricksters. They're mocking us," Evelina says hollowly, startling everyone as she enters the room shakily and points a finger in the Doctor and Donna's direction; her wrist wrapped in cloth. Her pale gold stola should look rich, but against the pale and sickly colour of Evelina's skin, it only highlights that the girl is not well.

"No, no, I'm not. I meant no offence." The Doctor raises his hands in a gesture of harmlessness as he looks on Evelina with concern. She's swaying against the pillar, obviously not feeling well, and there's a light in her eyes that is distinctly not human.

"I'm sorry. My daughter's been consuming the vapours," Metella tells them as she rushes to her Evelina's side, both proud and worried.

"Oh, for the Gods, Mother! What have you been doing to her?" Quintus pipes up for the first time. His look of concern for his sister is warring with disgust as he addresses his mother's hovering.

Quietly, but forcefully, Caecilius reprimands his son. "Not now, Quintus."

"Yeah, but Dad, she's sick. Just  _look_  at her," Quintus tries again to makes his parents see that something isn't right here; he  _knows_  it.

"I gather I have a rival in this household. Another with the gift," Lucius comments rudely, as though everyone should accept his authority as the highest in the house.

Proud of her daughter, though still deferential to the City Augur, Metella responds, "Oh, she's been promised to the Sibylline Sisterhood. They say she has remarkable visions."

Sensing Metella's hidden defiance, Lucius narrows his eyes at her and replies with his own cutting wit. "The prophecies of women are limited and dull. Only the menfolk have the capacity for true perception."

Rose is about to respond when Donna steps up with her own remark. "I'll tell you where the wind's blowing right now, mate."

Everyone looks up as another small tremor rocks the house momentarily. Caecilius doesn't dare direct his family to their places while Lucius is still in his house, and he's glad when the small quake subsides without damaging any of his precious treasures.

"The Mountain God marks your words. I'd be careful, if I were you," Lucius says to Donna, pointing a judgemental finger at her.

Laying a restraining hand to Donna's arm, the Doctor chooses to question the method of Evelina's words rather than their content. "Consuming the vapours, you say?"

"They give me strength," she replies, though she looks anything but healthy as her weighted gaze slides to his.

"It doesn't look like it to me," the Doctor tells her worriedly. They really ought to be going, but something is happening here, and this girl is a part of it. He needs to understand.

"Is that your opinion as a doctor?" Evelina questions, catching him off guard.

"I beg your pardon?" the Doctor asks, taking a step back. Rose reaches for him through the bond soothing his disquiet, but wonders at the girl's words as well. There is something just a little off about this family and Rose can't put a finger to it yet.

"Doctor. That's your name." Evelina is staring off into space, swaying. The words seem to flow from her without her conscious control.

"How did you know that?" the Doctor asks in quiet wonder, ignoring everyone else in the room as a feeling of foreboding washes through his mind.

"And you. You call yourself Noble," Evelina says, pointing at Donna, but there's no emotion in her voice, though the words are…

"Now then, Evelina. Don't be rude," Metella says quickly, trying to apologise for her daughter with a smile as she places an arm around her back, supporting her.

Gesturing to Metella to back off a bit, the Doctor encourages Evelina to continue. "No, no, no, no. Let her talk."

"You all come from so far away," Evelina whispers, her eyes large and dark, her pupils blown wide.

"The female soothsayer is inclined to invent all sorts of vagaries," Lucius expounds, trying to sound superior again.

The condescending grin is obvious in the Doctor's voice as well as on his face, and he indulges in a moment of mockery as he replies to the Augur. "Oh, not this time, Lucius. No, I reckon you've been out-soothsayed."

Turning his burning eyes to the Doctor, Lucius reaches more deeply for the truth that lays hidden. "Is that so, man from Gallifrey?"

" **What**?!" Startled, the Doctor stares open mouthed at Lucius.

"The strangest of images. Your home is lost in fire, is it not?" Lucius demands. He is not at all comfortable with the images playing through his mind. He doesn't often have to reach so deeply to impress the townsfolk, but this stranger has forced him to do so. His inner sight of raging fires in the sky, deafening cries, and the scorched remains of a domed city will haunt his dreams for many nights to come.

Wide-eyed as well, Donna looks over to Rose first, seeing nothing but astonishment there as well, she turns back to the Doctor. "Doctor, what are they doing?"

"And you, daughter of London…" Lucius begins before Donna cuts him off.

"How does he know that?" Donna demands, still looking to the Doctor for the answers. Her earlier anger is rapidly being replaced with fear.

Instead of the Doctor answering her, it is Lucius, "This is the gift of Pompeii. Every single oracle tells the truth."

"But, that's impossible," Rose speaks up from where she's seated nearby. The pain in her ankle completely forgotten in the tense repartee currently being bandied about.

"Gaia's daughter no longer, what you lost shall be restored," Evelina says, turning her dark and baleful gaze toward Rose.

Completely confused, and caught off guard, Rose responds, "What?! Do you mean me?"

Turning to Jack now, Lucius points his finger accusingly at him. "And the man bathed in Eternity's light. Will you wait, when love grows dark?"

"Whoa, now. I think this has gone far enough," Jack says, not liking where any of this is leading.

Not finished yet, Lucius turns his unwelcome attentions back to the Doctor. "Doctor, your enemy, your closest friend, will return and you will love them as your own."

"Who is? What did you say?" The Doctor has no idea what these maniacs are talking about, but where he was determined before to leave as quickly as possible, this is now a mystery he simply can't ignore.

"And you, daughter of London. How will you choose between Time and Love?" Lucius asks, turning back to finish with Donna.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Donna asks indignantly. Alright, all that saving of the locals doesn't sound like such a great idea now. "What is going on?"

Pulling herself away from the pillar, Evelina stands tall facing the Doctor, the light of prophecy bright in her eyes. "Even the word Doctor is false. Your real name is hidden. It burns in the stars, in the Cascade of Medusa herself. You are a Lord, sir. A Lord of Time."

Her mind abruptly fills with a vision of a burning, man-like stone creature, and Evelina faints, falling limply, like her strings have been cut. Jack is again close enough to catch her before she slams into the stone floor. Her mother cries her name in worry and begs Jack to bring her back to her room; Donna joins them to help with the girl. As they leave, Caecilius ushers Lucius out of the villa having handed the contentious stone to one of his slaves to carry for the Augur on his way home.

Caecilius natters on about being available anytime in the future should the City Augur need him again, but Lucius only has eyes for the Doctor on his way out of the villa. Time and prophecy surge around the strange man, and Lucius doesn't like it. As soon as he gets to his own villa, he will commune with the god's, warning them that there is danger in this man from an unknown land called Gallifrey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Thursday! :-) I borrowed heavily from the episode for much of the prophetic dialog. It was just too good, not to use. But it, of course, is the BBC's. :-)
> 
> I hope you are liking the story so far. Ash is betaing away. And I'm off to write some more. 
> 
> See you Tuesday with Investigations into Symmetry.


	41. Investigations into Symmetry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's something weird about this family and all of Pompeii. The Doctor is so close to figuring out what it is. This may call for a little...investigating.

**41 Investigations Into Symmetry**

 

As Jack reaches Evelina's room, she awakens in his arms and kindly demands to be put down. Followed closely by Metella and Donna, they shadow the girl toward her bed, but it's obvious that she feels better—she isn't so pale and her eyes are clearer. She's much steadier on her feet.

"Mother, could I please have a little wine? I still feel…unsettled," Evelina asks, but continues looking at Donna and Jack, not her mother.

"Of course! Don't wander off, dear." Eyeing Jack and Donna momentarily, Metella decides they are safe enough, and leaves the room not realising that her daughter had wanted her out of the way.

"You come from so far away. How is that possible?" Evelina asks as soon as her mother is out of hearing. Her eyes are clear, but they look right through both of them.

"Oh you know, we travel with the D…Spartacus…es," Donna stumbles, trying to sound casual.

"His name is Doctor; I remember," Evelina says smiling at Donna's awkward attempt at concealment. "Sometimes I dream of traveling, too...so many places." Her eyes get distant when she says this, and there's a small crease in her brow. Jack wonders if her dreams are good ones.

"What a great idea! You could go tomorrow or even today! That would be fun, right, Jack? Need help packing?" Donna asks her in quick succession with forced enthusiasm, desperate for someone to  _hear_  her about the coming destruction.

"You have such strange things to say, Donna Noble; they don't make any sense," Evelina replies, smiling at Donna as she moves to sit on her bed, watching them.

"Evelina, how long have you had the visions?" Jack asks, thinking an eighteen year old girl shouldn't naturally be so serious.

"Since we came here five years ago. I was fascinated by the sounds coming from the hypocaust, and I would sit beside it listening for the voices of the Gods. They do not speak to me, but through me; it is a great honour." The smile on her face is uncertain as she drops her gaze to the eyes drawn on the backs of her hands while answering him. They all turn to face Metella as she enters the room with a tray of small clay cups and a pitcher.

"Here is your wine, Evelina," Metella says as she enters the room. Then acknowledging Jack and Donna with a nod, she says, "Please forgive my earlier rudeness in light of the excitement. Can I offer you both refreshments, a bath, or perhaps a change of clothes—"

In a flash, Evelina interrupts her mother in a burst of childlike enthusiasm, leaping to her feet and grabbing Donna's hand.

"Dresses! Oh! Donna is just Julia's size, and she always keeps a few things here." Evelina is suddenly an eighteen year old girl, excited about playing dress-up with a new friend. Donna rolls her eyes at Jack, but happily allows the girl to drag her into the next room.

"I heard you talking to Evelina," Metella says quietly as she pours a small cup of the wine for Jack.

"I know," he answers her, taking the cup and sipping with her. "I heard you pause at the doorway."

"You've been a soldier," Metella says matter-of-factly. "You have the bearing." She acknowledges his nod with one of her own as she gazes toward the laughter coming from the other room.

"I feel like I should trust you, almost like I know you, and this frightens me. I am worried for my family and I don't know why. Can you tell me why, Jack?" She turns her pale blue eyes on him and he can see her concern and unease.

"Well, beyond my obvious charm and good looks…," he says cheekily, trying to illicit a smile from her to lighten the mood. Failing at that, he gives her the truth instead. "Because you  _can_  trust us. We travel, we help people; it's what we do."

She stares at him a moment more, looking for deceit. Finding none, she asks another question. "Your wife is very concerned about tomorrow. Why is that?"

"Oh, Donna's not my wife, we're ummm…involved, buuut—"

"I may not be a seer like my daughter, but I see relationships. Though you haven't exchanged vows, the Gods know your hearts, and you two are married in yours."

Jack is still blinking at Metella when the giggling pair of women returns. Evelina is still dressed in her pale gold stola, but Donna is radiant in a violet coloured dress edged at the neck in gold. The high-waisted style suits her, though it's very different from what the others are wearing.

"Julia's father trades with the Celts, and her Elia makes her tunics like theirs," Evelina is telling Donna as they enter. "I love them, but my mum won't let me wear them—too modern," she finishes in a whisper and they giggle again.

"May I ask a favour, Jack?" Metella queries him as he's watching Donna turn in front of the polished bronze mirror. He still has Metella's earlier words echoing in his mind when Donna turns and grins at him, making his heart flutter as he returns the bright smile.

"Absolutely," he replies, eyes full of Donna. His expression must be saying more than he intended, because Donna blushes and looks away, a secret smile playing around her lips as she looks at him sideways.

"Evelina, please come here," her mum calls. The two women join Jack and Metella near the door. "Would you show Jack your arm?"

The happiness slides off Evelina's face, replaced by stoic disregard as she unwraps her wrist, holding it out for Jack and Donna to see.

"What's this?" Jack says, eyeing it closely.

"It was said you come from far away. Have you seen anything like it?" Metella asks, her concern breaking through her calm mask.

"No, never. Jack?" Donna asks, but his response is to shake his head. Donna gently runs a finger over it and exclaims at the texture.

"Stone! It feels like stone. When did this start?"

"Within a year of us coming to Pompeii; it began as a grey smudge that wouldn't go away. Evelina never complains. We bathe it every night in olive oil." Metella runs her fingers over the crust as well, shivering a little at the unnatural texture.

"We should show this to the Doctor, err...Spartacus." Donna says.

"If you think it will help, let us do so," Metella replies, gesturing toward the door that leads back to the main part of the house.

Evelina leaves the room first, but Metella holds back a moment, resting a hand to Donna's arm. "Thank you for giving my daughter a moment of joy. Her laugh is so rare these days." Turning from them, she leaves the room, expecting Donna and Jack to follow.

"Jack!" Donna whispers urgently.

"What?" he whispers back with a grin.

Swatting him on the shoulder, she says, "Be serious. I tried to tell Evelina about the eruption. They don't see it coming. She just covered her eyes with her hands, and mumbled to herself until I apologised and promised not to mention it again. She kept saying there is only one prophecy. Jack, how can they be so right on everything else and so wrong about Vesuvius?"

"I don't know, Donna; but let's hope we figure it out soon."

"Jack!" the Doctor calls as they enter the courtyard.

* * *

The Doctor watches Caecilius shadow the City Augur to the door of the Villa. He can see the self-important man is chewing on the recent events. The Doctor is filled with foreboding. It's bad enough that they're in Pompeii on the eve of its destruction, but now, something else is wrong—very wrong.

"Doctor, what just happened?" Rose asks him, having observed the Augur's leaving with relief, but could see by her husband's tense shoulders that he doesn't feel the same.

"Rose! How's your ankle? We should get you into the TARDIS while no one is watching and I'll—"

" _Doctor_ ," she says warningly. Rose isn't going to let him derail her this time. "What just happened? I don't remember anything about the oracles being so accurate, and if they are…what did they mean by all that?"

He joins her on the bench and runs his hands through his hair. Turning to face her, Rose can see the worry in his eyes, but also the brilliant curiosity; she can feel it through their bond. She reaches out and playfully pushes his shoulder, tucking her tongue in her teeth as she smiles at him. The Doctor grins at her gesture, taking Rose's hand and relaxing a bit at the familiar playfulness. He still looks stunned at the seer's words, but he feels less...anxious now as he tries to explain.

"I don't know, Rose. I have no idea how Evelina or Lucius could have known…so much. The oracles were never very accurate. They're getting high on sulphur vapours, after all!"

Looking up at a noise, the Doctor sees a slave lighting torches around the walls of the courtyard against the coming night. He spies the grate over the hypocaust and gets up from Rose's side to investigate. He's working at removing the grill from it when Caecilius returns a moment later.

"Not your run of the mill hypocaust, is it?" the Doctor asks as he finally rests the grill from its seat.

"Oh, no, we're quite modern in Pompeii. Even in Rome they still use wood fires. Here we have hot springs. It comes directly from Vesuvius itself." Caecilius is obviously proud of the improvements, though they were in place when he acquired the villa.

"And who thought of that?" the Doctor questions as he tries to see down past all the steam and glow.

"The augurs and soothsayers, of course. After the big earthquake seventeen years ago, there was a lot of damage, I understand, but they rebuilt." He may have only been here for the last five years, but he's very proud of Pompeii and pleased that he chose wisely when moving his family from…where was that, again?  _Oh yes, Rome, they moved her from Rome—filthy city,_ Lobus reminds himself.

"Why would you stay after that? No wait, look at San Francisco. You said,  _they_  rebuilt. You weren't here seventeen years ago, then?" The Doctor looks at the man next to him critically. He knows Caecilius is an intelligent man, but he seems confused much of the time, and the Doctor knows that isn't just because of his involvement in the days events.

"Welllll, strictly speaking, no. We've been here five years, but everyone knows about the earthquake that gave truth back to the oracles," Caecilius replies with a knowing eye-roll.

They hear a loud grumbling crash come from the hypocaust as the hot air swirls around within.

"What was that?" the Doctor asks, peering down into the hypocaust again.

"I have no idea. It happens all the time. They say it is the Gods of the Underworld stirring. It's very exciting isn't it?" Caecilius' glee is closely matched by the Doctor's own, though the latter does a better job of concealing it.

"I'm sure  _they_  do. And let me guess, all this accuracy started after that earthquake?"

"Oh yes, very much so. Up to that point they'd been, shall we say, imprecise. But after the earth moved, they found truth again. Now they can predict crops and rainfall with great precision."

"And they haven't had anything to say about tomorrow?" Rose pipes up from the couch. She'd been listening in, fascinated by their conversation and the running under-current from the Doctor as he started slotting pieces together. This piece though, still confuses her.

"Tomorrow? No, why? Should they? What's happening tomorrow?" Lobus Caecilius looks up at the darkening sky and around his villa as if searching for answers before he looks back to the Doctor and Rose, his confusion plain to see when everything appears normal.

"Oh, nothing, really," Rose says reassuringly, though the alarms in her mind make her even more on edge. Unexpectedly, she gets a soothing wave of warmth from the TARDIS. Looking over toward their home, Rose sees nothing different, just as she expects, but returns the warm touch with gratitude. If the TARDIS isn't worried, then she'll try not to be, as well.

"And these vapours, they all breathe them in?" Stepping back from the hypocaust, the Doctor watches how the steam filters into the air, appearing slightly…sparkly.

"Yes, that's how they see. The vapours transport the gods visions into their minds," Caecilius responds. He's seen the process often enough recently since his own daughter is to be given to the Sibyllines.

Just then, a slave calls for Caecilius who leaves the room to address the issue.

Leaning forward again, the Doctor swipes a finger across the edge of the opening. It comes away covered in microscopic dust.

"And they're all breathing this in, too?" Touching a bit to his tongue, the Doctor grimaces. There's the usual rock debris he would expect to taste—igneous and sulphuritic—but there's something else. Something he feels like he should recognise, something not of this Earth.

"The dust?" Rose wonders, answering his question with her own as she too feels like there's a bigger picture just outside her reach.

"Yes, dust. Tiny particles of rock; and they're consuming it," the Doctor replies thoughtfully.

"Doctor, that can't be good for any of them," Rose points out.

"No, of course not," he replies, still distracted. Getting to his feet, he looks thoughtfully around the courtyard. When his eyes alight on Quintus lounging in a corner watching them, a slow grin slides across his features.

"Quintus, me ol' son!" the Doctor says jovially as he crosses the room to stand in front of the now wide-eyed boy. "What do you know about Lucius Petrus Dextrus?"

"This has nothing to do with me!" Quintus says quickly. He isn't interested in this madman's schemes; he'd been doing a very good job of going unnoticed.

"Let me try again," the Doctor says, his smile widening as he leans forward and suddenly begins flipping a large gold talent through his fingers. "Where does he live?"

Quintus' eyes get even more huge at the appearance of the talent. Not only does he not usually see that kind of money, but the crazy man seemed to pull it out of thin air. Getting to his feet, Quintus nods and heads for the door, followed closely by the Doctor.

- _Doctor_?- Rose queries mentally, the concern and frustration with her ankle clear in her tone.

 _-Just a wee bit of investigating. We'll be right back-_  he replies, caressing her mind and showing her the questions he has about the stone circuit as well as his remorse that she's hurt.

Rose smiles at the image he sends her of putting together circuit shaped puzzle pieces, and returns his caress with one of her own. - _Take Jack?_ \- she suggests, hearing the man in question approaching with Donna and the rest of the family.

"Jack!" the Doctor calls, seeing the other man enter the room behind the wife and daughter. "Come on, we're investigating."

"Yes, sir!" Jack replies enthusiastically. Leaning down, he busses Donna full on the lips, grins at Rose, and slips out of the villa behind the Doctor and Quintus who grabs one of the lit torches on their way out.

* * *

Jack and the Doctor follow Quintus through the streets and alleys of a nighttime Pompeii. Keeping the boy's torch in sight, Jack catches the Doctor up on what happened in the back of the house.

The Doctor's features take on a grim cast when Jack tells him about the girl's arm. Several pieces slide into place in his mind, and he doesn't like where any of this is taking them.

After a few more narrow turns, Quintus stops beneath a window. "Don't tell my dad," he says, glancing up at the window. "This is Lucius' villa."

"So long as you don't tell mine," the Doctor quips as he jumps up to the sill, opening the shutters and disappearing within.

Jack grins at Quintus and stands beneath the window to boost the young man up. The Doctor leans out the window and asks for the torch. Once they hand it up to him, Jack follows Quintus in entering the Augur's villa.

Looking around, it feels like a workroom, though the walls are covered in mosaics and what furnishing they can see appears to be finely made. There is a set of shelves against one wall containing many scrolls and tablets, and a beautifully wrought table with a bust of Titus Caesar sitting on it. The gold laurels around its edge glint in the flickering light of the torch as they move swiftly around the room.

The Doctor notices a curtain that seems out of place and pulls it aside, revealing six of the beautifully wrought circuits in green marble.

"That liar! He said my father was the only one," Quintus exclaims indignantly.

"Of course he did," Jack replies sarcastically, eyeing the racked stone circuits.

"Tell all the marble merchants the same thing and you have all your components made at once without anyone knowing what you're making. Quite clever really," the Doctor acknowledges as he leans in to examine the stones closely.

"Which is what?" Quintus asks looking over the Doctor's shoulder.

Jack is only able to hiss a warning seconds before Lucius enters the room followed by a couple of guards. Keeping the guards in place with a raised hand, Lucius answers the Doctor, "The future, Doctor. As described to me by the Gods."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And from here on we really start to deviate. I don't know if any of you have figured out where I'm going with this, but I've been planning it forever! :-) I just finished all the remaining chapters, and they are in Ash's capable hands. Yea!
> 
> I hope you're liking this last part of the story. The reviews have been a bit sparse. :-D This is my longest piece of fiction to date, and I hope it hasn't taken too long to get to this point. I'll have the final parts published in the next couple of weeks.
> 
> I hope, as it comes to a close, you may decide to let me know what you've thought of it. I've enjoyed this year of creative writing as a hobby. And it is a unique and fulfilling experience to be able to share it with so many people. :-) So, I hope if I've brought you a smile or a chuckle, pulled your heartstrings, or even made you mad, you'll drop me a line or two as the story finishes, letting me know your thoughts and feelings.
> 
> Thanks so much! Cheers! :-)


	42. Treasures Lost and Found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our TARDIS crew is split up, and a most unusual discovery is made; one that changes everything.

**42 Treasures Lost and Found**

 

"Where have the others gone  _now_?" Lobus Caecilius asks acerbically as he enters the courtyard from the back of the house. Donna has been quietly relating to Rose what transpired earlier as Evelina and Metella have the slaves lay the table for dinner.

Metella invited Donna and Rose to join them after the other men left with her son. Accepting the invite seemed like the best choice since they didn't know how long the Doctor would be ' _investigating_.'

"They shouldn't be long," Rose explains as Donna helps her hop toward the table. "Quintus is taking them somewhere...to investigate…something."

Caecilius rolls his eyes dramatically and huffs at the news. "That boy! It's all the wild and undisciplined lower classes that interest him. He has no concern for our reputation! Hopefully your husbands will keep him out of trouble."

"Yes, I'm sure  _our_  husbands will do just that," Rose says, looking significantly at Donna who had opened her mouth and now clicks it shut, smiling politely in return.

"Thank you so much for letting us join you for dinner. It has been a most exciting day," Rose says to the family as the slaves set out the dishes and pour the wine. Both she and Donna are extremely uncomfortable with all the attention and the fact that the servants are slaves. They'd had a short exchange about it earlier and decided to do their best and live by the 'when in Rome' saying.

"Hasn't it? I imagine the rest of your inspections must have suffered for your missing them," Metella says, eyeing Rose with interest. "Do you normally join your husband when he works?"

"Oh, yes. How else would he ever manage everything? You know how busy husbands can be, and our work is so… delicate. He prefers that I join him," Rose responds, watching Metella digest her words as she pops a cheese-stuffed olive in her mouth.

"I absolutely rely on my Albanus. I've had him since we lost Tomas, and he handles all the clerical duties of the business. I'm complete rubbish with a stylus," Caecilius replies with a smile, completely missing the exchange between the women.

Metella loves her husband very much, but she can't imagine spending her days at the quarry or the workrooms. It's so dusty and congested, and who would manage the household? No, she isn't cut out to be so… _modern_. Though, secretly, she envies Mrs. Spartacus—just a little.

"So where did you live before coming to Pompeii?" Donna asks. Rose had mentioned earlier they'd only been in Pompeii for a few years.

"In Rome, filthy city; it's much nicer here in Pompeii—more advanced hypocaust system, cleaner, and such a great mountain view!" Caecilius enthuses as he pours himself a touch more wine. The young ladies' description of the day as exciting doesn't cover it—unexpected inspections, Lucius' delivery, and then a battle of oracles? _This evening definitely needs more wine_ , he thinks to himself.

"Oh? Are you both from Rome, then? I've been once, but it wasn't recently," Rose tells them. Her experience in Rome is still in the future for them, though her past—as usual. Well, maybe their future, if she can persuade the Doctor to save them from the volcano.

"Yes, we are. We met on the steps of the Forum—" Caecilius begins, smiling at Metella before he's interrupted.

"No," Evelina denies quietly. She stares off into space, her eyes are large and dark again. Though she says nothing else, her lips move, forming silent words, her food forgotten.

"Please forgive Evelina; she really is a good girl. The sisters are thrilled with how powerful her visions are," Metella tells them as she watches her daughter closely in case she needs assistance.

"The sisters?" Donna asks.

"The Sybelline Sisterhood. Evelina is to be given to them once she becomes a noviciate. She's still only an applicant, but they already see greatness in our daughter. We are very proud, aren't we Lobus?" Metella looks to her husband, but doesn't find the support she was counting on.

Lobus Caecilius is looking at his daughter with concern, his expressive brows knitted in worry. "Truthfully, they give me the creeps—Ow! Yes, proud! Of course, we're proud. The Sisterhood is quite prestigious." Rubbing his arm where his wife swatted him, he turns a comical and all suffering look in Donna and Rose's direction. Rose bites her lip not to laugh, but Donna looks thoughtful.

"Does she get a say in that?" Donna asks critically.

" _Donna_ ," Rose warns quietly. It wouldn't help anything if they got kicked out of their host's house before they could save them or relieve them of their 'modern art.'

"I want to know if Evelina  _wants_  to join the Sisterhood," Donna responds to Rose's warning with her own passionate desire to make her own decisions. She'd spent too much of her life doing what others had told her or expected her to do.

"I am promised to the Sisterhood for life. It was not my decision; they chose me because I have the sight," Evelina answers simply, her eyes now clear and focused on Donna.

"Well,—"

Donna is about to continue giving her two cents worth when Rose hears the singing she thought she noticed earlier, only this time, it's getting louder. The ground trembles, and a rumbling from the hypocaust interrupts Donna. The shaking increases but seems rhythmic—like footsteps. Abruptly, Jack, the Doctor, and Quintus burst into the villa, running all out.

"What is it? What's that noise?" Metella asks in growing horror as she springs to her feet, feeling the rumbling  _steps_  come closer.

"That doesn't sound like Vesuvius," Caecilius points out unhelpfully, looking off in the direction of the mountain.

"Caecilius! Get your family out!" the Doctor shouts as he moves to Rose's side, lifting her off the bench and into his arms.

"Doctor? What is it?" Donna asks as she rushes to Jack's side. Quintus runs to his family, helping Evelina up and steadying her against the quaking.

"I think we're being followed," Jack tells her as he herds everyone toward the front of the villa. "We found more of those circuits, and the  _owner_ ," Jack says significantly to Rose, "wasn't pleased when the Doctor figured out they are or maybe were for a power converter. We may have created a scene to get away, that may have involved a little destruction. This started soon after," he finishes breathlessly.

Just as they pass it, the stone around the hypocaust cracks, flinging the grill into the air followed by a blast of hot air and stone.

" **Just get out!** " the Doctor shouts. Instead, they all stand and stare at the spectacle. A creature made of fire and stone leaps out of the hypocaust and into the villa where it almost reaches the ceiling near the dining area.

"The Gods are with us," Evelina says reverently, recognising the creature from her earlier vision. She pulls away from the relative safety of her family, taking a hesitant step toward the presumed deity.

"Evelina! Come back," Metella cries as her daughter steps toward the creature. Jack leaps forward and hauls her back to where they are all huddled against a wall.

Looking around them at what might be available, the Doctor spots a bucket. Pointing at it he yells, "Water! We need water. Quintus, all of you, get water!"

"I'm sorry," the Doctor says quietly to Rose as he sets her down on the floor. She nods, but she desperately wishes him to be careful. He grins at her that manic smile of adventure, thrill-seeking, and a delight in puzzles to be solved. Rose slaps him on the shoulder, pushing him to go with a smile of her own, but deep down she still worries.

Keeping an eye on the creature, the Doctor sidles toward the opposite side of the room. If he can get its attention, he might be able to keep it from—

"Blessed are we to see the Gods." A slave lurches from the doorway to the kitchen and throws himself to his knees in front of the creature, gazing up beseechingly. Looking down at the man, the creature releases a breath of hot ash and fire, incinerating the man where he kneels.

Appalled, the Doctor waves his arms around, wanting to be noticed and yet trying to stay far enough away not to end up barbecued but still get the monster's attention. "Talk to me. That's all I want. Talk to me. Just tell me who you are. Don't hurt these people."

Before the creature can respond to the Doctor with answers or death, there is instead, assistance. From the side opposite, the Doctor comes more than one bucket's worth of water, dousing the creature. It abruptly goes dark under the onslaught, solidifying in place a moment before tumbling to the floor in pieces and dust.

Everyone is so focused on what was happening that no one but Evelina sees Donna snatched away by several red-robed figures, her bucket of water falling to the floor unheeded in the chaos of the moment.

Quintus, Jack, and a slave stand panting, the buckets limp in their hands as they all stare at the pile of rubble left from the creature's crumbling.

"What was it?" Caecilius asks, kicking a rock and looking dumbfounded. Could the gods be so easily defeated by man?

"Carapace of stone, held together by internal magma. Not too difficult to stop, but I reckon that's just the foot soldier," the Doctor answers, looking critically at what's left. A dawning look of horror grows on Caecilius' face as he realises the implications.

"Doctor, or whatever your name is, you bring bad luck on this house," Metella tells the Doctor fiercely, taking a step toward him, her hands balled into fists at her sides.

"I thought your son was brilliant. Aren't you going to thank him?" Rose tosses out, annoyed at Metella for blaming her husband. Though, truthfully, she was probably in the right. The creature did seem to follow the trio back here, but still—this is  _her_  husband to yell at, thank you.

"Well, Donna, you were right. We—" The Doctor interrupts himself when he turns to find Donna, but can't see her anywhere. "Donna?"

" **Donna**?" Jack calls out, circling the room, suddenly worried that she may have been hit by falling rocks and be injured. She'd just gathered water with them.

" _Doctor_ ," Rose calls quietly from behind him. Turning, he looks down at Rose where she's leaning against the wall to find her pointing. Following the direction of her finger, the Doctor sees Evelina standing apart from the rest, her hands over her face, the painted eyes visible—watching them.

"I think I know where Donna is," the Doctor says, staring at Evelina and sensing the psychic connection she's engaged in. He steps to her side and lightly touches her bare shoulder. The touch lasts only a second, but it's long enough for Evelina to gasp as the contact with her sisters is abruptly severed, and for the Doctor to know the location of the Sybelline Sisterhood.

"They've taken her to the Sybelline temple," the Doctor says, looking closely at Evelina, who returns his regard impassively—she doesn't back down. "I don't think they like what she's been saying. I need to go."

"What's the plan, Doc?"

"Plan? Right, umm…plan."

Rose can feel that he just wants to run. Donna needs saving and all this talking is getting in the way.

"Go. Save Donna. I'll rest here."

_-I'll try to get into the TARDIS and get my ankle fixed-_

_-Rose, I—_

_-I know, my love. Hurry, we don't want her fed to the bears-_

_-I can't just leave you here. Jack will stay-_

_-Doctor, I'm not a complete invalid! I can—_

_-NO!-_  the Doctor almost shouts in her mind. In that instant, the truth behind the intensity is revealed, and Rose sees that he's afraid of what might happen if she's left alone. Look at what had happened even when she'd been with Donna on Midnight.

_-Oh, Doctor.-_

_-Please, just ask Jack to stay. I have to go-_

_-I know, luv. Be safe-_

_-Aren't I always?-_

Rose chooses to ignore that last remark, mentally swatting him.

"Jack?" Rose calls out for their friend, and he immediately turns to her, the worry plain on his face—he'd been staring up at the night sky over the courtyard, facing the direction of the mountain that would soon change so many lives. She feels bad for asking him to stay, seeing him so affected. "Jack, I'm so sorry, but would you please stay with me?"

Jack stares at Rose for a solid second, his face going completely blank before turning the same empty stare on the Doctor. In the Doctor's gaze he sees doubt, hesitance, and fear. That won't help any of them, and Jack tells himself that he trusts them with his and Donna's life every day. He understands why the other man fears leaving his wife alone.

"Yes. Doc, I…"

"Jack, I'll find Donna and return her safe and sound, promise," he says with a relieved smile, playfully crossing both his hearts.

Jack nods, chuckling at the gesture and removing his coat since he's staying for a while, draping it over his arm. He knows the Doctor will do everything in his power to find Donna; he still wishes he was going, too. This getting split up thing is starting to get old.

The Doctor strides to Rose's side, scooping her up and depositing her on the couch nearest the TARDIS as Jack follows them. "Rose Tyler, I love you."

"Of course, you do. You're brilliant, remember?" she replies with a cheeky grin.

The Doctor grins back at her and looks up at Jack, who tosses him a lazy salute and half a smile of his own.

"Back in a flash!" Coat tails flapping in his own breeze, the Doctor exits the villa at a full run, blowing past the slave that has just opened the door and nearly bowling over the three people who had just knocked.

A now slightly harried slave precedes the individuals into the courtyard where others are still cleaning up the remainder of the creature from the hypocaust.

"Announcing Julius Lucianus and his family," the slave cries to the room before running back toward the kitchens and presumed safety.

"My friends! It is late. To what do we owe the pleasure?" Caecilius says jovially, holding his arms out and embracing the shorter man.

The middle-aged man that's entered with his wife and daughter is quite short with dark, very curly hair and bright blue eyes—made brighter by his pale blue tunic edged in green. Their mischievous twinkle is irrepressible as he lays an affectionate arm around his wife's back, grinning at Caecilius.

"We can't let you have all the fun, Lobus," she adds, affectionately ruffling her husband's hair. She's a similar height to Metella, which makes her markedly taller than her husband. Her hair cascades around her shoulders in black ringlets held back by a small diadem that winks in the torchlight. The emerald green dress she wears is the same style Donna had on earlier and matches their daughter's white one.

Metella smiles warmly at them as well, joining her husband in greeting the visitors. "Aurelia, I've missed you. How long since you've been back from Rome?" The two women clasp hands and move to the table, sitting side by side and chatting.

"Julia!" Evelina, the dark maturity of prophecy stripped from her youthful features, runs to the daughter's side, and they embrace warmly.

"Father, may we be excused?" Evelina asks, already pulling Julia toward the interior of the villa. She grins at his nod, and the two young women disappear, presumably toward Evelina's bedroom. Evelina has much gossip to share after tonight's events.

"Lobus! We heard all the commotion and came to see what sort of party you were throwing without inviting us," Julius says with a smile, watching the last of whatever the slaves were cleaning up being removed. Abruptly, he notices Jack and Rose, who are watching the proceedings with amusement.

"My apologies! I didn't realise you already had guests; how rude of me. I am Julius Lucianus and I brought my wife Aurelia and daughter Julia. Please forgive my bad manners," he says warmly, walking directly to Jack and holding out his hand.

Jack stands and clasps wrists with the small fellow, grinning broadly as Caecilius jumps in to make introductions.

"This is Jack, assistant to Mr. and Mrs. Spartacus, the marble inspectors. Mrs. Spartacus was injured earlier during one of the quakes, and is waiting while her husband does…whatever it is that he's doing." Caecilius would rather go to bed, but always enjoys visiting with Julius. It will be nice to have someone to talk to about the evening that might actually make sense out of what happened.

"Marble inspectors, really? Well, if it's business we can certainly leave, Mrs. Spartacus," Julius says quickly to Rose, looking alarmed.

"No, no, please stay. Our business was completed, but we encountered some unforeseen outside…issues, and my husband went to investigate. And, please, call me Rose," she says, holding her hand out for Julius as well. He stares at it a moment before taking it.

Caecilius blinks in surprise to hear Rose's name before he leans in and whispers loudly, "They're Celtic." Julius looks thoughtful, but nods as if this explains everything.

Julius notices the TARDIS parked behind Jack and Rose. He turns an amused and sceptical glance on Caecilius as he says, "More modern art, Lobus? I thought Metella had forbidden your acquiring of mysterious items."

"Well,  _forbidden_  is such a strong word, Julius," Caecilius remarks, attempting to look stern. "Women do not —"

"No,  _of course not,"_ Julius interrupts with mock seriousness. "And my Aurelia  _never_  tells me when I'm being an idiot either," Julius snorts good-naturedly. "I'm certain that all husbands actually obey their wives, just as the Gods decree." The sarcastic smirk and eye-roll that follows this statement makes Rose laugh out loud.

"If only that were true, Julius. It is a great pleasure to meet you," Rose tells him through a chuckle, immediately liking the jovial little man.

"Well, that remains to be seen, but we're off to a great start, my dear." The twinkle in Julius' eyes reminds Rose of Jack, and she turns to see him smiling, as well. Rose's attention snaps back to Caecilius as the man begins speaking again.

After Rose assures the two men that she and Jack are fine on their own, Caecilius drapes a friendly arm around the smaller man's shoulders and leads him toward the women and the wine. Julius looks thoughtful, but follows Caecilius' lead toward the giggling women who have already been enjoying the wine.

* * *

Rose is bored and angry, a little scared, and just a bit depressed. It's been twenty-two minutes and she can hear the others in the next room enjoying themselves, and it makes her miss her husband and Donna.  _I'd much rather be done with this place and moving on_. Rose grimaces at her own selfish and unsympathetic thoughts.  _It's just this ankle,_  she thinks to herself with a sigh.  _Shouldn't there be a rule that the first adventure after some downtime must be injury free?_

Rose suddenly stops and grins at herself, reaching for the TARDIS.

_/Darling, can I possibly send Jack in to get something for my ankle?/_

An image of a small tool the TARDIS calls a regenerator pops into Rose's mind, along with its position by the door, and instructions on its use.

 _/Perfect! Thank you!/_  Rose thinks at the ship, sending Her affectionate mental caresses.

**_~You are both the cause and the effect, my Wolf~_ **

Rose sends a confused query toward the enigmatic ship, wondering at the odd statement, but receives no reply. She does however feel the ship pull back a bit, also strange. Rose decides to takes things one at a time. She reaches over and shakes Jack out of his own reverie. He's been brooding about Donna since they were left alone. At Rose's touch, Jack blinks at her, an inquiring eyebrow raised.

"Jack, the TARDIS just showed me that She's set one of the regenerators near the door for my ankle. Would you get it? I'd like to be able to move around again." Rose's annoyance with her ankle is obvious, but Jack still has a question, even as he stands and stretches.

"But Rosie, what are you going to tell the family when you're suddenly up and walking?"

"That it wasn't all that bad. I'll limp a bit or—"

Once again, the ground shakes violently, throwing Jack against the wall where he clings as Rose hangs onto the bench like a barnacle. In the few seconds that the ground moves, Rose hears a huge splitting pop and looks over to see the wall with the house gods carved into it crack from floor to ceiling. As the tremor abates, the singing that Rose has heard twice before grows again; and this time it doesn't fade.

"Rose? Are you okay?" Jack asks, coming back to her rather than continuing to the TARDIS.

"What? Ya, ya, I'm fine. Jack can you hear anything?" she asks him distractedly.

"Like what, Rosie? The others seem fine, though it appears that bust finally found the ground." He can see the other four adults on their hands and knees trying to find pieces of the unfortunate sculpture.

"No, I mean like singing or music. Do you hear  _that_?" Rose's head is cocked to the side with her eyes closed. Her face is turned toward the wall where Jack can see a huge crack has just appeared.

"I don't hear anything. Did you get hit by something? Are you sure you're okay?" he asks again, worriedly. The Doctor would NOT like it if he'd let Rose get hurt.

"Yes, Jack, I'm fine," she grins up at him. The worried expression on his face relaxes into a grin as well. "But I think we have a mystery of our own. I'm hearing something and it's coming from over there. Can you take me?"

"What about the regenerator?" Jack queries, glancing at the TARDIS.

"It'll wait; I feel like this is really important." Rose wears a determined expression though Jack can see the questions in her eyes as well.

Jack scoops her up and takes her to the wall where they can see the earlier hole has opened further with the crack. The carvings are irreparably damaged, but Jack gasps as he gets his first good look at them.

"Rosie, the faces look like Caecilius and his family!"

"I know, weird, huh? I want to see the hole."

Jack kneels down so Rose can peer into the darkness behind the opening where she sees a glint of metal. Reaching in, she's surprised by the size of the compartment behind the carving. Rose is glad that she and Jack are hidden from the family. She's sure this would be sacrilegious to be digging around in the—

Suddenly her hand brushes warm metal and a light flashes behind her eyes causing her to gasp.

"Rosie!" Jack exclaims at her reaction. He'd been looking closely at what was left of the carvings and he'd nearly dropped her in surprise.

"It's okay. Hang on." Feeling around again, more delicately now, Rose finally locates the warm metal. It's round, and as she grasps it, she hears a new voice that she instantly recognises as her own waft through her mind along a ribbon of intimately familiar golden energy.  _/Rose. Save our family. Protect us./_

She pulls her hand out to find a silver fob watch in her palm. It's beautifully carved in Gallifreyan. The glyphs explain, in cryptic clarity, why the Arch receptacles had been used. Rose gasps as her limited understanding is augmented by the basics of what the Chameleon Arches are and how they work slides forward in her mind.

"How the hell is there a Victorian looking watch in a Roman wall, Rose?"

Rose flips the watch over and sees her full name written on the surface in the delicate circles, arches, and dots of her new language. Pieces slotting together in her mind, Rose ignores Jack to quickly stuff her hand back into the hole, pulling out three more watches. The four distinct voices accompanied by a swirl of colours are saying the same thing in her mind, but through them all is woven one emotion—fear.

"Jack," Rose breathes out, looking up from the watches in her lap with tears in her eyes, "these aren't just watches—they're us."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so the big reveal! These entire 42 chapters and the previous four stories have been about reaching this moment. I thought up this part of the story last August when they announced Capaldi as the Doctor, and it actually inspired me to start writing fanfiction. But I had to get here and so I created this AU to explain how the Doctor is also Caecilius. Now, before you ask, I have a plan to deal with Frobisher as well, but it is not nearly so convoluted. :-)
> 
> Many thanks to Ash for the beta help, and pointing out when my own thoughts didn't make sense. :-D


	43. Volcano Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Volcano Day and Rose and Jack find they have more people to save then they'd previously thought.

**43 Volcano Day**

 

"Us? Rose, how can  _we_  be inside those watches? And we're in Pompeii on volcano day! We need to figure this out, and fast! What the hell is going on?" Jacks asks, completely confused and anxious about Donna and their timing.

Without paying to much attention to the other watches, Rose slides them into the impressive pockets of her hoodie, but keeps 'hers' out. Not looking at Jack, Rose says, "Let's get to the TARDIS, She'll explain the rest to me…I hope."

 _The rest?_  Jack looks from the top of Rose's head, to the hole in the wall, and then back to the object she's almost caressing in her palm. He has no idea what's happening, but he reminds himself again that he trusts Rose and the Doctor. He has to. Otherwise, Donna might end up dead, and he could be stranded in the heart of one of human history's most famous natural disasters. A niggling part of his mind unhelpfully informs him that that could all happen anyway. He pushes it aside though, and stands, carrying Rose back toward the TARDIS.

In his arms, Rose gasps again, alarming him, and starts speaking, "Jack, the Doctor has Donna; she's safe! They're making their way through the hypocaust to its source. He says the aliens involved are called Pyroviles."

"Pyroviles? Never heard of them," he responds, trying to calm his racing heart. The fact that the Doctor and Rose could communicate mind to mind was certainly helpful, but also somewhat disconcerting at times.

"The Doctor hasn't either, but he thinks their world may have ended up destroyed in the Time War and they crashed here seventeen years ago. They've slowly been taking over the human population through the dust! That's all he knows." Rose pauses, and then has to stifle her giggle as they cross the room. "Jack, he used a water pistol to save Donna!"

"Ha! He would. I bet Donna  _loved_  that," Jack says around a smile, finally starting to believe that all this may work out, after all. "Hang on a sec, Rosie."

Jack sets her down on the bench still communicating with the Doctor before he wanders over to the TARDIS, trying to look nonchalant, and unlocks Her door. Carefully opening it as quietly as possible, Jack watches their hosts and their friends continue talking and laughing unabated. Returning for Rose, Jack sees that she's finished ' _talking_ ', picks her up again, and carries her up the ramp and to one of the jump-seats within.

The regenerator is already there and waiting. Rose uses it while Jack gets the door. It only takes a few seconds for the indicator light on the device to show green. Rotating her ankle, Rose grins up at Jack as she gets to her feet unaided.

"I  _love_  advanced technology!" she says happily. Holding up the watch in her hand, she motions toward the terminal in the console. "Now lets find out more about these."

Rose moves to the terminal and types in a request for more in depth info on the Chameleon Arch receptacles. She and Jack skim through the offered information on what the Chameleon Arch is and its intended purpose. Only part of the information is translated for Jack, but Rose reads it all.

"Holy shit, Rosie! I know there's no way for me to be familiar with all the Time Lord tech that ever happened; and I know a lot of it was so complicated as to be mostly magic, but  _this_? This takes the cake!"

"I know, Jack. I've never heard of them before this, either," Rose says distractedly.

"Okay, so what happened? The situation must have been desperate for you guys to use them; I imagine they would be painful to use," Jack puzzles.

"According to what's written on the watches, they were being pursued by gaseous creatures that consume the life forces of individuals as they take over their bodies to continue living. The Doctor couldn't let these creatures have their Time…Lord bodies, and so they used the Chameleon Arch; they all became human to save themselves. The TARDIS created their new lives for them. Their Time Lordy-bits…are in the watches." Rose stumbles as she translates the story. Time Lord to human—a device built into the TARDIS to reconfigure a person's most basic anatomy. The Arch literally translates a Time Lord into any species to hide from their enemies. Just like the Chameleon circuits that, if unbroken, would hide the TARDIS. The TARDIS! That means—

" _You_ , Rosie," Jack says quietly, breaking her out of her thoughts about there being more than one TARDIS nearby.

Blinking, she looks up at him, away from the monitor and into his eyes which are large with compassion and sympathy.

"What?" Rose asks, confused by his statement and his demeanour.

"You keep saying ' _they_ ' were pursued, ' _they_ ' changed. Rose, they're you—you said it earlier,  _"They're us."_ That means you and the Doctor…from the future. And I can read between the translated lines the TARDIS is letting me see. That's not Donna and I—"

Jack is cut off as the TARDIS trembles. He looks over to Rose and sees the faraway expression again that means she's talking to the Doctor. Jack relaxes a bit until he sees the tears start to shine in her eyes as she tries to blink them away.

* * *

_-Rose! It's me; I make this happen! I kill Pompeii!-_  The Doctor's voice in her mind is devastated, filled with a long sorrow.

_-Doctor! What are you saying? -_

_-The Pyroviles, they want the planet, the whole planet. I can't let them have it. They've been suppressing the volcano for seventeen years and subverting the population. I can save the Earth, but…remember 10 Downing and the Slitheen?-_

Rose reaches into her pocket and pulls out the Doctor's watch, finding it by the ribbon of blue energy and his voice in her mind. Clutching it and 'hers' against her chest, Rose feels the warmth of the two watches as another puzzle piece slides into place and Rose smiles, the tears ignored for the joy in her hearts.

 _-Yes, but Doctor—_ Rose tries to explain the watches, but he interrupts her.

_-Rose Marion Tyler, we might not survive this, and I want you to know—_

Cutting off his maudlin musing Rose tells him. _-Shut it! You'll make it. I know it, Doctor. You and Donna will make it out safe; we all do, I promise-_

_-Donna won't let me push the button alone. Donna Noble, the noblest—_

* * *

Outside the TARDIS, in the Caecilius villa, Lobus, Metella, and their guests pause as they hear the first rumble, raising a toast to the Mountain God and all His gifts.

Their festive mood is broken when Evelina stumbles through the doorway, followed closely by a frightened Julia and a blurry-eyed Quintus. Julia had fetched him when Evelina fell into the trance and couldn't be roused from it from she became upset.

"The prophecy, it has changed," she cries, swaying against the wall, clawing at the stones. The dread and terror hollows her eyes and pinches her features. Quintus steadies her, looking beyond her shoulder to their parents as Julia goes to Aurelia and Julius.

"What has it changed to, Evelina? Are we going to have more rain after all?" Julius jokes drunkenly, but stumbles on his laughter when Evelina turns her dark gaze to him.

"Pompeii is burning; She will die under layers of fire and ash. Most will perish."

The ground trembles again and begins shaking powerfully in earnest, when they hear an odd wheezing groaning sound coming from the courtyard. Caecilius lurches to his feet in time to see his earlier modern art acquisition fade from view along with the strange sound. Something inside him wails in terror as the blue box disappears. Hardly able to stay on his feet, he stumbles into the courtyard looking for Rose and Jack.

Looking around the vacant room, Lobus Caecilius' eyes alight on the broken wall where the house gods now lay in pieces, a gaping darkness, empty behind them; he feels despair well up within his heart, thoughts of missing guests forgotten.

He feels a small, warm hand slide into his, and looks down into his daughter's golden-brown eyes. She smiles up at him with faith and a calm assurance clear in her gaze.

"All is not lost, Father. They will return," Evelina tells him, squeezing his hand.

His only response is to nod, not understanding. Then as a piece of wall comes down in the continued shaking, he leaps to action, all inebriation gone as he gathers his family and friends against the one wall of the house that is most stable—the one cut into the side of the hill itself. With his arms wrapped around as many as possible, Caecilius prays to mighty Jupiter for help as the ash begins to fall and the air begins to burn in their lungs.

* * *

The TARDIS pitches to the side, sending Jack and Rose stumbling between the consoles as the Doctor's communication is cut off. Rose feels the annoying buzz that had been a background to this entire adventure suddenly crescendo and then cease completely as the fixed point snaps into place.

The Pyrovile's alternate timeline vanishes in a wink; their seventeen years of hard work vaporised in an instant. Time would proceed as it must, without them, and Pompeii was again doomed.

Rose moves to the controls and starts the dematerialisation sequence, looking for the right coordinates as she types furiously into the monitor's keyboard.

"Rose! We can't leave! We have to save—"

"We're coming back, but I have to save Donna and the Doctor. They had to set off Vesuvius to stop the Pyroviles from taking the whole planet. The Doctor thinks they're in an escape pod, but it could be compromised," she tells Jack as she shares the last of what she'd learned from the Doctor. Making a few adjustments, Rose throws another lever, and the TARDIS begins to groan.

Rose turns, brandishing the two watches at Jack. "I know we make it Jack. Because of these, I know we survive this. But I have to save ourselves first before  _we_  finish saving… _ourselves!_ "

Jack thinks her laugh sounds a little unhinged, but at least she's smiling. Moving to the secondary console, he sees the TARDIS trying to lock onto the pod that's just been spewed from the volcano.

"I got them, Rosie. They'll hit the ground about a kilometre outside the city proper," Jack says as he locks onto the tiny speck containing two life-signs.

"That's too close. The pyroclastic flow will be faster. I'm going to break the rules, Jack." Rose flips another lever and takes them into the vortex. "I'm going to land us ten seconds before they hit. That will give the TARDIS enough time to extend Her shields. It wouldn't do to have them vaporised when they step out of the pod," Rose jokes, turning to Jack and grinning in excitement.

"You two are sooo perfect for each other," Jack replies with a headshake and an affectionate smile.

"Yup! Hang on, this is going to be bumpy!" Rose yells above the roar they can hear growing outside the doors. The TARDIS materialises sliding along the ground before slamming to a stop, locking Herself in place against the storm of natural violence outside.

Rose picks herself up off the floor and runs to the doors, throwing them open just as a house sized boulder slams into the ground and rolls once about ten meters away. An opening is revealed as a piece slides away and the Doctor and Donna stumble out, dazed but whole.

The Doctor takes one look at the wall of grey, burning destruction heading their way and grabs Donna's hand.

_-Doctor!-_

His head snaps around to Rose and the TARDIS, a tight-lipped smile momentarily lighting his dirty face though his eyes remain haunted. He immediately begins pulling a coughing and choking Donna at a run toward their home and only has to go a meter or so before he enters the TARDIS' extended shields. Rose steps aside as her husband and her friend tumble into the TARDIS interior gasping.

Jack scoops Donna off the floor and twirls her around merrily. Though smiling at him, she beats at his shoulder weakly to be put down, still trying to get a breath in past the dose of grit and poisoned air she'd just inhaled.

The Doctor's superior anatomy leaves him less affected, but he only squeezes Rose's hand as he moves past her toward the console, sending them directly into the vortex. Rose follows him.

"What are you doing? We have to go back. We have to—"

"No," he says simply and turns from her to move away into the TARDIS; he needs a little time.

Rose isn't going to let him run away from this, not now. She makes it to his retreating back in a couple of long strides.

"Doctor," she begins, taking his hand to turn him back.

"NO, ROSE! I can't save them; I can't save anyone. The city burns, twenty-thousand dead, I did that," he yells at her before continuing in a slightly less strident voice. But he shies away from her hand, feeling tainted by his unenviable decision.

" _We_  did that, you idiot. Now, listen to Rose," Donna throws out once she recovers enough to speak, though her voice is thick.

Rose holds her position, a few steps from the Doctor as she entreats him to actually  _hear_  her. "You've got to go back, Doctor. We have someone to save. Not everyone is meant to die in Pompeii."

"That's just it. Don't you see, Rose? Can't you of all people understand? If I could go back and save them, then I would. But I can't. I can never go back. I can't. I just can't— _I can't_." He says this last brokenly, as he falls onto one of the other jump seats, dropping his head into his hands.

Rose can sense that he's talking about something else entirely. He's thinking of his own people, whether destroyed or hidden. There had still been so much death, but he's also thinking about their son and every other person he's ever lost that he wished he could go back and save. Rose understands, and lightly caresses him mentally.

"But, Doctor, we already have," Rose says with quiet intensity as she pulls the four watches from her pockets. Her tone pulls his head from his hands and his eyes get huge when he sees what she's holding. Finally, in the quiet of the TARDIS, the Doctor is able to hear their song, especially once they lay in Rose's palms.

"What are those?" Donna asks, but Jack shakes his head at her watching Rose and the Doctor. He'll explain in a minute, but this moment is too important. Donna looks from Jack's anxious expression to Rose and the Doctor's exchange, and decides to wait and see what happens before pressing for more information. Her questions might just get answered.

"Rose Tyler, where did those come from?" the Doctor asks, standing.

"The wall of Caecilius' villa—Doctor,  _they're us_ ," she tells him, holding out 'his' watch to him. In her mind Rose, feels the love and satisfaction from 'her' watch directed toward her husband.

He takes the couple of steps to Rose and gently takes the watch, his eyes getting wider as he hears his own voice in his head begging for help. He then looks from his watch to the other three Rose is holding. Sudden realisation galvanises the Doctor, who slips the watch into his pocket and moves quickly to the controls.

"Alright, here's how this is going to work. I'm going to land us as close to when you left as possible but it might be a few minutes later. This is a very strong fixed point and the TARDIS will have to fight Her way in, now that it's happening. Luckily, we can follow our own trail—a wee path of breadcrumbs left by Her leaving.

Typing furiously into the monitor, the TARDIS begins to groan and shake as She battles Her way through the time-winds toward Her Time Lords. She'd felt Herself earlier, patiently waiting just out of sync with reality. Once this is finished, She'll land nearby.

Rose turns shining eyes to Jack and Donna, where Jack is quickly bringing Donna up to speed. Donna's incredulous expression almost makes Rose laugh.

Though her eyes are still shadowed by the knowledge of twenty-thousand dead innocents, Rose still has plans to save at least one family other than her own. The warm olive green and peacock blue of the other two watches encouraging her decision.

* * *

To Lobus Caecilius, the world is coming to an end. Their lungs burn, their eyes are gritty and crusted, and the incessant roar and rumble of the mountain terrorises what he assumes is their final moments.

Out of nowhere, the earlier groaning wheeze becomes louder than the mountain, kicking up a breeze and fluttering the white ash in the air around them.

Caecilius looks up to see his treasured blue box standing directly in front of him. On the side facing them, a door opens and he has to squint against the golden brightness that nearly blinds him after the gloom. Blinking, he sees Rose smiling at him with that Doctor fellow standing at her shoulder looking dark and a bit foreboding.

"You came back. Please forgive us our rudeness, mighty Gods; we didn't recognise you before," Caecilius rasps, raising his hands beseechingly.

Ignoring his words with an eyeroll, the Doctor hurries out of the TARDIS, Her light shining through the dust and gas in the air, clearing a space around Herself of the bad atmosphere. Levering Caecilius up onto his shoulder, the Doctor helps himself, gasping into the TARDIS. Rose helps Quintus and Evelina, and Jack carries Metella.

Donna herds the other family in right behind them, moving too quickly for anyone to balk. They might be saving a future version of the Doctor's family, but the least she can do is save one other family from burning.

Caecilius is still coughing and choking as he's helped through the door, grateful to these new gods for saving his and Julius' family and delivering them into…

"Great Gods! It's bigger on the inside!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So now you know, I did a little Family of Blood mashup in here. I decided against creating my own situation for using the Arch. It is obviously something RARELY used, so I didn't want to have to use it again at a later date when touching on that story. We have a long way to go before we find out what happened in their version, or we may never know. I have it in my head, but I don't know that I would write it out. Linearly, it's a long time from now; we'll see. :-) I hope you like it. One more chapter for the conclusion! See you Thursday for the final wrap up. You've been awesome!


	44. Revelations of the Timey-Wimey Kind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> High above Pompeii truths are revealed.

**44 Revelations of the Timey-Wimey Kind**

It's a short but profoundly silent trip for the new companions in the mind-boggling vessel as the TARDIS moves them away from the fixed point and to a nearby mountain close beside Her hidden self.

The TARDIS lands and opens Her doors well above the destruction that is occurring in Pompeii some distance from their high perch. It is not far enough away to hide the erupting Vesuvius completely from view. Its fiery light casts the blue of the TARDIS in high relief, and the pre-dawn sky is almost completely obscured by an ash cloud that reaches high into the atmosphere. Everyone within exits slowly, at once captivated and overwhelmed by the devastation unrolling below.

Both families are in such a state of shock that no one bats an eye when the Doctor and Rose ask to speak to Caecilius alone. Gazing once more mournfully down at what was once his beloved Pompeii, Caecilius squeezes Metella's hand before turning to the Doctor and Rose. Walking away from his family in this utterly surreal moment is the hardest thing he's ever done. These bizarre people/gods are the only reason he and his precious family are alive, and he  _knows_  this. He will have to make a great sacrifice at the temple in Rome to show his gratitude.

Jack and Donna move to take Caecilius' place with his family and friends, engaging them in halting conversation and bringing them water and clothes to wipe the grit from their eyes and noses. Evelina holds Julia as she tries to clear the ashy poison from her lungs

Caecilius nods to Jack on his way by, and he's grateful to the man now that he sees him in a whole new light. Rose and the Doctor are Gods; he'd watched how they manouvered their ship, calling instructions to both Jack and Donna-it was obvious who was in charge. And as such, they choose to have  _these_  two humans with them; that must make them remarkable. Caecilius sees this as another favourable sign from his new chosen deities. Returning the nod, he feels marginally better leaving his family in this moment of grief and upheaval to their capable ministrations.

Following Rose and the Doctor up the hill and past their miracle of a ship, Caecilius knows his life will never be the same again.

* * *

Reaching a spot that's just around an outcropping of rock behind the TARDIS, the Doctor and Rose turn to Caecilius. With the soon to be rising sun in front of him, the awful glow of Pompeii limns Caecilius' body in its terrible light, throwing his face in shadow.

For Caecilius, the glow surrounds Rose and the Doctor in an ethereal light, making them seem larger than real life. He drops to his knees at their feet and begins entreating and thanking them for saving his family and Julius' family in a jumble of words that the Time Lords can barely follow.

Startled, the Doctor leaps forward and scares Caecilius when he takes his hands and bodily pulls him to his feet, despite the protests.

"No, no, we'll have none of that…hypocritical, really. Rose and I have some questions for you, and then we'll all head back to your family, alright?" The flash of distaste and then reassurance does nothing to alleviate Caecilius's confusion, but at least they aren't demanding  _him_  as sacrifice…yet anyway.

"Yes, of course, as you say mighty Doctor," Caecilius replies in greatest respect, bowing his head and spreading his arms.

The Doctor squints at Caecilius, pursing his lips in disapproval, but refrains from continuing that vein of conversation. This will all be over soon, and truthfully, he can't wait. This isn't the first time he's saved himself, but it's always odd to be confronted with your future form. Part of him is pleased to see how dashing he looks, even if he is  _old_  again-bugger. And look at Rose—she's ginger! He just  _knew_  she'd be ginger first; look at her father. It still isn't fair. Thinking of Metella makes him smile, though. His Rose is still gorgeous, and…

He freezes when a piece of this reality that he had only touched on earlier slams home. Quintus and Evelina are his children— _their_  children. A sudden moment of panic grips his hearts contemplating how long he and Rose have been Arched. What if the children are really human? His panic begins to abate when he remembers that she has four watches, but his hearts take a moment longer to slow. They have children! The original thought renders him speechless a moment, a feat in itself, and it's Rose that speaks next, wondering at her husband's silence.

"Caecilius, we have something for you. It will be difficult to understand at first, but there was a specific reason we saved you and your family today." Rose smiles at him, hoping to mitigate some of his fear.

"My goddess, you do not need to explain your whims to me. I am but your servant, grateful and willing." He bows again to her, and she can't help the laugh that escapes.

"Haha! No, Caecilius, you're not, though sometimes I wish—"

"Oi! Rose, really, sometimes you're as bad as Jack," the Doctor remarks with a mock scowl, snapping out of his shocked thoughts.

Smiling at him, she bumps his shoulder in amusement. God, he loves this woman.

"I...do not understand," Caecilius responds slowly, the confusion plain on his face and it breaks Rose's hearts a little to see her Doctor so unsure.

"We know, and we're sorry for that. It'll all make sense in a bit. Now, answer me this; have you ever dreamed you were me?" the Doctor asks Caecilius seriously.

Spluttering, they can see Caecilius searching for a way to respond. Taking pity on him the Doctor answers for him.

"I bet you have, and I bet you've seen yourself traveling in that box over there, too." The Doctor gestures to the TARDIS where She stands outlined in fire. "Am I right? And sometimes you have different faces? Sound familiar?"

Caecilius hasn't dropped to his knees again, but he looks like he might, swaying drunkenly.

"No, no, this is good! Really Caecilius, it's very good. Because it's true. We saved you because you're us, from the future," Rose tells him, lending him support with her smile.

"But, I've dreamed of you, too. You and the magic travelling box have been in my dreams for years. But everyone dreams in Pompeii…well, dreamed," Caecilius says sadly, turning his head in that direction. When he looks back they can see his eyes are shining with tears.

"Yes, well, that will stop now that the Pyroviles and Pompeii are gone. I am sorry," the Doctor tells him, the sympathetic understanding clear in his gaze. "The explosion was so powerful it cracked open a rift in time, just for a second. That's what gave them all the gift of prophecy. It echoed back into the Pyrovillian alternative, but not anymore. That low level psychic field will dissipate over time, long before people live near here again."

Caecilius looks at him, clearly searching for understanding in the strange words, but they can tell by the confusion pinching his features that he doesn't find any. He does, however, understand the Doctor's expression and nods as he brings his hands to his face and scrubs them quickly over his features.

"What is it you need of me, Doctor? I don't comprehend why I know these things, but I do know my family needs me." Caecilius bows his head in acknowledgement of their divinity, but desires nothing more than to be with his wife and children. No matter that part of him has knotted his stomach in anxious excitement. It's just the events of the day...right?

The Doctor reaches into his pocket and feels around for 'his' fob watch. It immediately comes to his fingers, and the Doctor within brushes his mind lightly, grateful.

Taking a deep breath to ready his mind against the upcoming grating presence of another version of himself, the Doctor pulls the watch out.

"Have you ever seen this, Caecilius?" he asks him, holding it out.

"Ummm…yes? I think so," he replies, peering at it closely. His whole being wants to lean toward it. "Oh wait, yes! There were four of them. We found them when we moved to Pompeii. We thought they were signs from the Gods that they blessed our coming, and so Tomas built them into the house gods. The others must be lost now," he says sadly, gazing back toward the glow.

"No, they're safe! I have them all," Rose reassures him, encouraging him to take the watch from the Doctor with a gesture.

Caecilius gingerly takes the watch into his hands, cupping it. Its warmth startles him, and in his mind he feels a little of the constant fog burn away and a wash of song filters through his thoughts. At the Doctor's words, he snaps back to the here and now, locking his eyes on the God before him.

"Now, I need you to open it," the Doctor says to his older self with what he hopes is an encouraging smile.

"Open it? How do I do that? And, why would I do that?" Caecilius asks quietly, gazing again reverently at the gift as the song continues to filter into his thoughts.  _These are made by the Gods; mortal men should not touch them for long or risk death,_  he silently reminds himself.  _Look at what happened to poor Tomas._ Lobus Caecilius gazes at the watch in his hand as if he's been handed a poisonous snake—beautiful but deadly, and yet he would be unwilling to release it.  _Are those words; is it speaking to me?_

"Because we left them for you, and it is time to receive your reward for such faithful service," Rose says, hoping that keeping th explanation in a scope that makes sense for the human version of her husband will ease the initial process.

"Oh! Forgive my hesitance. I did not realise. Please show me," he replies with alacrity, but his heart twinges with guilt. Rose's words mean that these gifts were only ever intended for him, reminding him that he still feels responsible for Tomas' death.

"Just push this button," the Doctor shows him. "It will do the rest."

The Doctor had always hoped he would never have to use the Chameleon Arch, but is currently absurdly grateful to the miraculous piece of Time Lord technology. No matter how painful it is in process, knowing it saved his family makes it worth every excruciating instant.

They take a couple of cautious steps back from him, and Caecilius glances uneasily up at them. They nod and smile at him, the Doctor and Rose silently encouraging him to open it.

Looking down at the swirling patterns on the cover of the thing, Caecilius marvels at its beauty. In his mind he feels a deeper stirring and a profound desire to be… _awake_. Taking a breath, he pushes the button they showed him, and as the lid flips up he's enveloped in a golden fire that consumes his entire being.

Thoughts, memories, feelings, and images burst into his mind as it opens like a flower, each petal spreading to allow another portion of his Time Lord consciousness to slide back into place. His true self had been dormant for so long. There is no pain this time, but all the knowledge, burdens, and great life tearing back into place within causes a different sort of pain.

The glow ceases after what are only a few moments, and he sways in place, still looking at the now defunct Arch receptacle. Slowly, he takes a few steadying breaths, allowing his hearts to find their rhythm, and he looks up at his previous self, blinking. He catalogues the pinstripes and pokey hair, the hoodie and sun-coloured ponytail, and then his perusal comes to rest on their joined hands. Moving his sharp gaze again to Rose's, his countenance softens and a sadness slides over his features, before being replaced by an enormous grin.

"Rose Tyler, look at you, still all pink and yellow. And I'm still in pinstripes; I remember this!" he says excitedly, patting himself down in a bit of personal inventory as he stumbles on a bit of rock.

Once he's finished, he looks over at himself with a sardonic twist to his lips and an agressivley arched eyebrow. "Doctor," he acknowledges with a nod.

"Doctor," his previous self replies with his own arched brow, not to be outdone. "Scottish again, is it?" he queries with a slight smile.  _Hopefully, I've lost that ridiculous umbrella this time around,_  he thinks to himself.  _The things I've worn in the past._

With an amused snort, the younger Doctor rocks back on his heels and releases Rose's hand to hug her close, draping an arm over her shoulders. "So, how much of this can you share with us? Why here? And which  _me_  are you exactly?" The curiosity is its own light in the Doctor's eyes. He knows he won't get all of his questions answered, but he's always hopeful. "Oh, and you were very confused. Are you feeling better?" he asks, looking at the freshly awoken Doctor over the rims of his glasses.

Thinking for several moments, the older Doctor looks like he wants to tell them everything, but then he shakes his head with a rueful smile.

"I can't, or I should say that I didn't tell you more than you learned from the watch's case. You'll have to forget most of this anyway. You'll know when you make the decision that it will all work out. That's the only reason I did it; Rose was…will be so positive it's the only way," he replies looking again at the watch in his hand. "The confusion, I think, was the marble quarry, actually. I wouldn't be surprised to find that the mine was somewhat radioactive, and the…"

"…the radiation was not only damaging to the human body but also loosening the bindings of the Arch on the Time Lord consciousness. Eww…glad we got here when we did; that could have been messy." They share a look of mirrored distaste and horror at the thought of how potentially destructive that could have been.

"Well, I understand not being able to tell us, never hurts to try. Who would ever use the Arch willingly? It's not like it's a toy. Nope, no fun at all," the younger Doctor says with a violent shake of his head, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his overcoat.

"Nope," his older self agrees in the same tone. He wants to tell them everything, and is annoyed that he cannot. He wants to tell them about the Family of Blood. Tell them not to ever go near that damned planet. He also needs to invent a way to set an alarm or something on the Arch.  _Oh, Tomas,_  he thinks to himself painfully, remembering his now long-dead companion. Five years is a bloody long time as a human; something else could have happened! Stuffing it all down, he'll get to talk about it with his Rose later. There's something else he  _can_  do now, though—something good.

Stepping forward with a much more confident stride, the bright-eyed elder Doctor takes Rose's hands in his own, and looks deeply into her eyes. She gasps a little as their energies slide against each other, looking for purchase—like when they'd run into her first Doctor at that market near Dracos Major. Suddenly, it feels like a lifetime ago. Rose's thoughts return to the here and now as this ' _new_ ' Doctor starts speaking to her.

"I know where you are, and what happened recently," he says with kind and quiet intensity. The tears she'd been holding back for the past hour or so immediately start to flow, but she nods, trying to smile. "Those are  _our_  kids, Rose Tyler,  _yours and mine._  We made them; and they are perfect."

Looking over her shoulder to his previous self, the older Doctor includes him in the smile and the comfort. "Thank you for saving us."

"Well, saving oneself is a habit I seem to have developed over the centuries," the younger Doctor replies with a cheeky grin, even as he displays his profound gratitude in his eyes. This is exactly what Rose needed to know. They didn't need to know when or what happens that they're both in new regenerations. They just need to know that it gets better. That there's  _always_  something worth living for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: And there you are lovies, all finished. I tinkered with this quite a bit this morning, so any obvious grammatical and punctuation errors all all mine. I hope you've enjoyed this ride and thank you for taking it with me. I have a couple of missing scenes that I may add later...we'll see. :-)
> 
> And at the end of things there is gratitude. Ashlanielle, you have been a most willing and devoted beta for an entire year, and I cannot accurately express how much your help and support have meant to me. I have a new friend, and for that I am profoundly grateful. Here's to many more shared stories!
> 
> In the midst of planning this story, I had always intended for it to revolve around the terrible events I had planned for Midnight. Once I actually started crafting those plans, it was obvious that I was writing something more emotionally challenging than I had ever tackled, and it was going to be highly sensitive. Ash was willing to do her best for me, but the topics are extremely difficult. To save her from what I was writing, I asked around for some help, and was delighted to find the very talented Veritascara. I have such an author-crush on two of the authors she betas for and I couldn't believe that she would have the time to help me. She was incredibly insightful and beat some very important writing skills into my novice head, for which I am thoroughly grateful.
> 
> It was a profound and personal journey for us all, and I could never have made it palatable without these two talented women. Thank you. Many, many times, I thank you.
> 
> I know there are many of you, but this is getting ridiculously long. :-) I hope you'll be inspired to review now that it's finished. I would love to know you thoughts, either critical or positive. Are there any characters or events that people would like to see tackled in the next installment? I can tell you it won't be what you expect, but I would love to know if there are any favourites you'd like included. :-D
> 
> Currently, I am sewing...a lot, but in the off moments I will be rereading my own stories and doing a little editing here and there. Nothing major, but I have all these new skills and I want to make sure they're up to speed.
> 
> It's been a great year! Thank YOU!


	45. Afterword/Afterward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens before this whole affair must be forgotten?

The Doctors decide that since most of the outcome of this adventure will have to be skewed in their memories anyway, there's no reason to leave in a hurry. They both independently think it will be good for the younger Rose in the long run.

The younger Doctor returns to the group near the TARDIS. Metella catches her breath when she sees him round the rocks alone. Seeing the fear in her eyes, the Doctor gives her a gentle smile of reassurance and nods at her to go see her husband. She's worried enough to not notice how his eyes linger on her, much too concerned with determining her husband's safety. Without a backward glance at the younger man, Metella goes to find Caecilius.

This leaves the younger Doctor in the company of his future children. This alone is a somewhat surreal experience, but he can't help the underlying peace and excitement he feels seeing them—his son and daughter. They are currently sitting in a clump with Donna, Jack, and the Lucianus family sharing stories. The tales are mostly happy and the tears of loss are accompanied by laughter.

The Doctor well understands using humour to mask the hurt. He could join them, but chooses instead to lean against the TARDIS and watch the others talk. For Her part the TARDIS nudges the Doctor with a wash of affection and he pats Her side in return. He looks out over the devastation below as his mind digests not only what has happened but what will, and tries to piece together why. Might as well indulge the fancy now while he still has all the memories. He hopes it's a long, long time before he and Rose have to actually live through these events.

* * *

 

Rose stays with the elder Doctor on the other side of the rocks. Earlier, she and her Doctor had had a lively and entirely silent conversation about her remaining with the elder Doctor. Her husband had been adamant that she have this brief opportunity to meet the two children who, in the future, would be theirs. The winning argument had been that even though the memories would later be hidden, the impression would still remain--the hope and solace that deep down, there was nothing wrong with her and they would eventually be parents. This finally persuaded Rose to stay.

Metella enters the little clearing in an obvious state worry, her eyes are shadowed with the grief from the disaster unfolding below them; but Rose can see the blatant love and respect toward her husband in the woman's (her) eyes—the total trust as relief washes across her features when she sees him whole and safe.

A few golden minutes later, Rose gets the chance to meet herself, and it is a profoundly odd experience. After coughing the last of Vesuvius from her restored Time Lord lungs, the elder Rose immediately moves to her husband where they embrace silently for a long moment--once the Doctor appears to remember how. The shy awkwardness of his hug makes the younger Rose smile.

_-Rose! Is it obnoxious to have missed you even though we were never apart?-_

_-You ridiculous man; I missed you, too-_ Their energy wraps around them tightly as they finally embrace properly. The elder Rose looks up into her husband's relieved gaze and sees his happiness even though she can also sense the sadness just behind it.

 _-Tomas?-_   Rose asserts with matching grief and remorse. She knows her husband's mind well after all this time. He grieves for the loss of Pompeii and the friends they had made there; but there is also the sharpness of a broken promise—a responsibility unfulfilled.

 _-Aye, he weighs heavy on my thoughts. We'll have to let his mum and sister know-_ he sends her, resting his forehead against hers—easier this time around since they're almost the same height.

Deepening the moment, they share brief glimpses of the two years Tomas had traveled with them, celebrating his life. From the moment they'd met, saving him from a misplaced and very hungry Shagra beast, they knew Tomas was special. Meeting his family and asking him if he'd like to join them had been a natural extension of the budding friendship.

Even hidden as they were, human, they knew Tomas was special to them, and they had spared no expense on his funereal, simple though it was. The final memories they share are she and their daughter washing and binding his broken body, weeping. Then the rites as they placed him reverently in the family's mausoleum. A mausoleum already buried under tons and tons of ash and pumice.

 _-We'll tell them together, luv-_ she replies, surrounding him with her understanding. It's always hard when a companion leaves, but it will be particularly difficult for them and the children, as well as it will be for Tomas' family. He'll be much missed.

Turning with slightly wet eyes to her younger self, the older Rose smiles softly and steps to the younger woman for an embrace. Her current grief can wait in the light of everything her younger self has just wrestled with. She remembers all of this now with complete clarity, and she remembers how fragile she had felt at this very moment.

"Oh, to be blonde again. I did so love this hair," she says fondly, sliding a flaxen lock between her fingers. Humour is the gateway through all emotion, and she remembers feeling grateful for the distraction.

"But I bet the constant teasing that you get to be ginger must be completely worth it," Rose replies with her tongue-touched grin, wiping a few stray tears away.

The grin is mirrored in the older face and is just as bright. "Oh, it is! He _still_ hasn't been ginger, and still broods about it!" she says, and the two women laugh together over the ridiculousness of husbands, immediately feeling more relaxed.

"I am still here, you know, and can hear you both perfectly. My momentary thoughts of two Roses being better than one have just been thoroughly trounced, thank you!" the elder Doctor says with an indignant huff.

"Yes, and besides somehow coming out Scottish this time, he's also somewhat grumpy," the older Rose shares in a mock stage whisper.

"Oi! I'm not grumpy!”

"Yes, dear," she replies with an eye roll. The two women snicker at his disgusted exclamation about women. The elder Rose takes the younger woman by the shoulders and gives her a warm smile as she conveys her gratitude.

"Thank you for finding us. I'll…I'll go get…well, I need to go get our daughter," the older Rose says, sparing a glance at her husband before she smiles again at the blonde Rose. She raises a significant eyebrow above her piercing blue gaze, giving the younger woman a quick, and meaningful look, squeezing her shoulders before she releases herself and heads around the rocks, playing the part she remembers so well.

Pausing with her hand on the cold granite, the elder Rose turns back, "Doctor!" His eyes snap up from the watches in his hands at her call, and his expressive eyebrows are comically raised in alarm at her direct tone.

"Don't you dare be that awkward with our children, you pillock. I was pretty sure we broke you of that entire no hugging nonsense straight away," she states, wagging a finger at him. The Doctor rolls his eyes and makes a rude noise, but nods in understanding even while waving her on with a distractedly dismissive gesture. The elder Rose grins at him, and flashes another amused and significant look at the younger Rose before continuing around the boulders.

 _I wonder what that was all about,_ Rose thinks to herself.

Rose wonders if he maybe he hadn't been long in this regeneration before he had to use the Arch to save his family. He's so huggy now, that she can't imagine raising children with any sort of awkward hesitance toward affection. But considering the differences between her first Doctor and her current one, she can well imagine a whole host of potential changes. Rose is pulled from her musing by the sounds of Evelina stepping around the rocks.

Evelina is obviously frightened when she steps hesitantly into the little clearing; but when she sees her father, she runs to him immediately, looking much younger than her eighteen years as she seeks his comfort. He bends down and catches her easily, but for one split instant, he'd hesitated in his embrace.

Evelina senses the instant of awkwardness, and pulls back slightly, looking deeply into his eyes. “Father?"

"Yes, my dear," he says reassuringly, but doesn't meet her gaze, looking at the watch in his hand instead. "Everything's fine, but I need you to do something for me. Evelina, take this—“

"You're not my father!" Evelina cries in a panic, pulling away from him. "You wear his skin, but your eyes betray you—“

" _Evelina_ ," Rose says soothingly, stepping forward and placing a comforting hand against her back. She can't really explain it, but knowing that these will eventually be her children instinctively makes her want to help them. She can't stand to see them so afraid. "It's been a hard day for everyone; we're all still a bit overwhelmed. Everyone is safe, though," she tells Evelina reassuringly. Then, having a spark of insight, Rose asks the young woman, "Have the visions stopped? Do you feel lost?”

"Ye…yes. How did you know?" Evelina replies, her eyes wide at the spot-on deduction. Her entire life has just changed in an instant. Yesterday she was destined for a life among her similarly gifted sisters as a respected seer in the Sybelline Temple. Today that bright future has vanished in fire and rage; she feels adrift and terribly alone.

Rose smiles at her in understanding, brushing a strand of dark hair from her cheek. "Do you remember when you told Donna you dreamt of traveling?" At the girl's confused nod, Rose continues with another question, "Did you recognise the blue box from your dreams?”

Evelina's eyes get big, and she nods again. "The whole family dreamt of the blue box when we first came to Pompeii, but everyone there dreamed truth. When Father brought the box home, we were surprised at first, but then…well, then we didn't really notice it anymore. Like She didn't want us to see Her.”

Rose nods at Evelina's remarks and notes that without realising it, the girl had accurately referred to the TARDIS as a She.

Rose takes her hands and squeezes them. "Evelina, this _is_ your father, and everything is about to make much more sense. Please trust me, trust him. You're safe now. I promise.”

Evelina stares deeply into Rose's eyes, looking for any deceit. Finding none, she sees only trust and a little sadness, but also…love. Evelina nods, straightens her shoulders, and moves back to the man who was and is her father—confused but willing to trust.

The older Doctor sends a soft and tender glance in Rose's direction before he carefully lays the watch in his daughter's hand and explains what will happen. She's trembling before he finishes, but shows her mother's strength as she immediately depresses the button, and gasping, is engulfed by the golden light, falling to her knees.

As it dies away, she looks around herself in confusion. Eyes alighting on the man who comes to kneel in front of her. Gently, the Doctor takes her wrapped wrist between his nimble fingers and slowly unwraps the once rich cloth from her affected skin. As the filthy strip of previously gold silk comes away, so does the scabby remains of the stoney blemish that's worried everyone since they made Pompeii their home. The Doctor brushes the last grains away with a caress and brings her wrist to his lips for a quick kiss, smiling at her.

"There you go, my luv, all better," he says with a lopsided grin, hoping his daughter remembers him now.

"Daddy!" she cries, falling into his arms in an instant, gasping tears, the initial shock wearing off. The Doctor wraps her up tightly in his long arms, all awkwardness forgotten in the need to love and be loved as he whispers to her in Gallifreyan.

Five years is a great deal of time for a child. The emotional turmoil from the colliding memories that he can sense affecting his daughter decides his coming actions with his son. The lad had just turned eleven when they were forced into the decisions that lead them here. Perhaps his change should happen asleep and in the TARDIS. That familiarity may help. He conveys his thoughts to his wife as she sits with the others, to which she readily agrees.

"Angevyn Suzette Lealla Tyler, you are safe, braveheart. I know it's hard and confusing to feel younger than your memories, but they will settle. Remember when Mum had to stow me in the Zero room for a bit after I regenerated this last time because I was so confused. Remember the dinosaur?" At the girl's wide-eyed nod, he continues, "Good, that's perfect. You and Alistair will need a little rest in the Zero room, too. And then you'll be right as rain, I promise.”

"Yes, Da," she says, sniffling, but sits up and wipes her eyes and nose on her singed palla, wrinkling her nose at the smell. Displaying that her moods are just as mercurial as her father's, she whines, "Oi! Can we get Darling now?" Sounding very much like a teenage girl, she continues, "I need new clothes, and Da, I'm in a dress!" All this sentiment is expressed with an indignant tug at the offending piece of clothing, as if dresses are definitely not her normal attire.

Rose can't help the laugh that escapes at the young woman's… her daughter's tone. It sounds very ‘Donna'.

The young woman whips around like she'd forgotten Rose was there, and her eyes get huge as she sees her completely for the first time and recognises the very familiar energetic signature with her newly restored Time Lord senses.

"Da, that's Mum! But…”

"Yes, child, it is; but we're currently crossing our time stream, and what have I—“

" _It's exceedingly dangerous, and should only be undertaken in the direst of circumstances,"_ she quotes, interrupting him.

"Oi, don't interrupt, you rude girl!”

"You're younger," Angevyn states, turning to face Rose and ignoring her father's outburst with practised ease.

His exasperated expression makes Rose laugh out loud. "Yes, but I don't know by how much. This is my first… me," Rose explains, smiling at the notion.

"Oh, well then, you’re—"

 _-No! Angevyn, she can't know!-_ the Doctor forcefully interrupts her. _-And on the other side of those rocks are Donna and Jack…from when we first met them. Do you understand?-_

 _-Really?!-_ she exclaims mentally, deadly curious, but at a wave of disapproval from her father, she ducks her head, blushing in embarrassment. _-Yes, Father. **Revealing the future is inconsiderate of individuals' choices and free-will. As Time Lords it is our responsibility to preserve time's balance, not muck around with it-**_ she quotes from her remembered studies.

 _-Aye, exactly-_ He washes away her embarrassment with a wave of understanding affection and fatherly pride.

_-Good girl, now go catch up to your mum. And remember…—_

_-Yes, Da. I won't say anything, promise-_

"My apologies for our rude private conversation, Rose," the Doctor says as Angevyn runs off to rejoin the rest of her family after a parting wave.

"Well, now I know what that looks like from the outside. No wonder Donna always rolls her eyes at us," Rose says with a knowing smile. The same smile turns a bit wistful as she continues looking at and into this older Doctor.

His energy is similar and yet subtly different from her current Doctor's. This incarnation is the deep but still bright blue of lapis lazuli, complete with the sparkles of gold that comes from her and their marriage bond. He feels more settled, more…complete. Rose wonders if that's just due to the passage of time or perhaps the regeneration. Did they regenerate together? And their daughter…how is it possible for her to feel so much like their lost son?

Rose looks back to his eyes, seeing there his total trust and understanding—his love.

"Our daughter's energy signature, it reminds me a bit of… well, you know," she trails off, unable to actually finish the sentence out loud.

"Aye, doesn't she?" he says with an insightful smile, sweeping his hands back against his sides as though sweeping aside a long coat, he's momentarily distracted from his thoughts by the reality. "Blast, she's right, and I'm in a dress, too!" The look on his face pulls another chuckle from Rose.

“Pockets?"

"Aye, and soon! Och, Romans!" he grumbles. Turning, he looks off at the rising sun, now clearing the distant horizon. His thoughts keep him occupied for a few moments before he turns back to Rose.

"That is a wee bit of interesting symmetry in the Universe, Rose Tyler. We lost our first son, but found part of him again later in our daughter. The similarities were more obvious at the start. But once she was born it began changing, and as she continues to grow and evolve, so will her energetic signature, just as ours do.”

Now, it's Rose's turn to stare off into the early morning light as she contemplates his words. The comfort and security they give her breathes more life into a chamber between her hearts that had just recently begun feeling again. _"Gaia's daughter no longer, what you lost shall be restored."_ Evelina's earlier words suddenly slide through Rose's mind and she gasps at their implication in light of what she just learned. Rose is still turning the words over in her thoughts as she feels her current Doctor and husband come up behind her, laying a warm palm against her spine. The older one starts to move off to rejoin his family.

"Doctor!" Rose calls out. The slightly shorter, grey-haired man stops, and she can almost sense him making a decision of some sort before he turns, wearing a small though genuine smile.

"Thank you," Rose tells him sincerely, twining her fingers in with her Doctor's. "I know you didn't have to let me or us have any of this time today. We'll wake up tomorrow with only a vague notion that something happened and that will have be enough. At this moment, though, this means everything.”

"Every moment, Rose Tyler, no matter how trying, wonderful, tainted, or glorious—they're all worth it. I have regretted many things in my life and forgotten others, but today and almost every day since we found each other again, I truly live. And I have you to thank for that.”

* * *

 

After a privately shared moment of understanding and communion, the younger Rose and her Doctor follow the elder Doctor around the rocks toward the TARDIS and their families and friends. The shorter, blonde Rose walks directly to their TARDIS and lays her hand on one of the slightly battered blue panels.

_/Darling, can you let your future self know it's time to appear?/_

**_~Certainly. We have been waiting~_ **

Abruptly, there is a shifting blur in the air to the side and then, there are two TARDIS, standing side by side. The elder is much fresher looking on the outside and has just a touch more purple to Her paint, but She's still the same beloved home that the Doctor and Rose have and will continue to enjoy for many, many years to come.

"Oh, you changed the colour," the younger Doctor says with a bit of grimace. "I don't like it.”

"Doctor!" Rose exclaims. Laughing, she swats her husband on the shoulder. "She probably chose that colour Herself, you git!”

The elder Rose shares the laugh, and adds, pointing at her recalcitrant husband, "Oh, it's alright. He said the same thing at the time!”

"Really?! Must we do this here? Come along, we need to sort several someones before this gets any more convoluted," the elder, more brusque Doctor states, waving an expressive hand in the vague direction of the profoundly silent, Lucianus family.

The group of Time Lords turn to gaze at the still very human, very impressionable, and very mystified friends that have watched not only this entire exchange, but also the appearance of yet another of the magical boxes.

"Ugh, why do these sorts of days have to be so bloody... difficult?" the elder Doctor says under his breath, only to be nudged by his auburn-haired wife. Seeing the exchange, the younger Doctor makes a decision.

"Right. Well, this has been lovely catching up, but I think that's our cue. We'll just be off. Right, Rose?" the younger Doctor holds his hand out to his blonde, smirking wife. He's wearing the pained, 'Oh god, please don't make me clean up this mess' look.

The elder Rose laughs outright at the spikey haired man's expression as she moves to her still human son's side. He's sitting beside Julia looking gobsmacked and a touch afraid.

Quintus turns disbelieving eyes up to the woman who looks like his mum, but now he's unsure. She lays an affectionate hand to his shoulder and suddenly Quintus feels a sense of relief and love wash over him, soothing his fears, and he turns a smile back up at her, ready for anything.

"Indeed. We'll be seeing you around," she replies to the pinstriped Doctor as her husband clicks his fingers to open their TARDIS' doors. They both immediately begin talking quickly as they usher the Lucianus family and their son into the other magical, blue box; doing a masterful job of keeping them all contained and the questions to a minimum.

The younger Doctor and Rose watch as the doors close tight and their future TARDIS dematerialises; Donna and Jack joining them as the wheezing fades.

"So, are we going to remember any of this?" Donna asks as the last of the breeze dies away.

"Nope, once we enter our TARDIS and leave this timezone, the memories will be gone. Because it's all of us, the TARDIS will take care of everything. She'll probably just skip the last couple of hours. It's like instant movie editing, only in your brain," the Doctor tells them with a grin, sounding pleased with the whole idea. Of course this is nothing new for him. He rocks back on the heels of his trainers, his hands in the pockets of his trousers. Rose, rolls her eyes at him.

"Oh, is that all? How often does that happen, then?" Donna asks, not sure she likes the idea of not remembering.

"Donna, I promise you this is the only time we've had to do this," Rose says, turning a reassuring smile in her direction after placing a stilling hand to her husband's arm.

"But, if it's all of us that have to forget, how would you know, Rosie?" Jack asks quietly. His thoughts are on the images from his own future; the ones Rose shared with him so long ago.

They all stare at him for a moment. Then, the Doctor clears his throat, looking uncomfortable, and abruptly turns about, walking back to their TARDIS-not answering Jack's difficult question.

The Doctor pauses outside their ship and holds up a hand. He'd seen how his future self opened the TARDIS. He'd wanted to comment at the time, but it would have been awkward admitting that he'd had no clue he could open the doors that way. Hesitating only a second, he loudly clicks his fingers and instantly the door pops open.

"Blimey," he breathes as he saunters in wearing a smirk, an extra bounce to his step. Rose sighs at his retreating back and follows him, turning to glance at Jack and Donna.

"We'll just be inside," she says, and Jack nods in acknowledgement.

He and Donna turn to stare back out at the smouldering remains of the once great city of Pompeii, both lost in their thoughts. After a couple of minutes, Jack stirs beside Donna.

"Let's go, Donna," Jack says quietly, putting a comforting arm around her shoulders. She leans into him, thankful for his warmth and his strength. He'd asked a very confounding and upsetting question. And the Doctor's lack of an answer wasn't reassuring. But if forgetting meant that people were saved, that would be okay right?

Donna decides that it will have to be, shrugging inwardly. She looks up at Jack and says, "Yeah, I'm ready.”

Together, they move into the bigger-on-the-inside ship that they've made their home. Traveling with the two aliens whom they care for like family. This had been a truly trying day. Donna thinks that a vacation might be really nice.

"Oi, spaceman, where to next?" She calls as she enters the TARDIS; her memories of the last two hours seamlessly altered. "I vote for San Helios!”

* * *

 

The next 'day' when Rose wakes safely in the TARDIS, stretching in her bed beside her still sleeping husband, she reclines on one elbow watching him for several minutes. She watches how his eyelashes flutter on his cheeks as he dreams, the smattering of freckles, and his flattened hair.

An image of the elder Time Lord flashes in her mind and Rose ponders that the grey hair on him had been sexy, too. She wonders if fabulous hair is typ—

 _I remember! I remember it all. I thought that whole make-yourself-forget thing was supposed to work! I must have done it wrong,_ she thinks to herself in disappointment. _How am I going to ask for help if no one else remembers either? Ugh!_

Flopping back on the bed, she covers her face with her pillow. The Doctor shifts next to her, but doesn't awaken.

**_~My Wolf, you remember because you must. You did/will remember enough of this when the time is necessary. Not all must be forgotten~_ **

_/What?/_ Rose asks the TARDIS. Had that been the knowing look she'd given herself? A little hint that there would be something different? That would be just like her.

**_~When the time is right, this will come back to you, and the correct decisions are made~_ **

_/Oh! Well, I guess that makes sense. Was this hard for you, Darling?/_

**_~It is neither hard nor easy. It is, as we are, and will be again~_ **

_/Was the last part of that supposed to make sense?/_

**_~Only if you need it to, my Wolf~_ **

The Doctor awakens to the joyous peals of his wife's laughter; he loves that sound. He rolls over to see what has her in giggles only to receive a pillow in the face. The retaliation is swift and soon they're both laughing and loving.

This is just the first of many days to begin in laughter with Rose Tyler and the Doctor on the TARDIS…just as it should be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with this little addendum, Something to Live For is truly finished. There were several questions about what would happen next, and so here I hope are some answers. Ashleigh beta'd this several times for me, and I still continued to tinker around with it. So any blatantly stupid mistakes or areas that make no sense are absolutely my doing. Ask if I haven't answered your question.
> 
> Cheers!


End file.
